


Can you really call this a Papby Kinktober fic? I mean, I didn’t even receive any nsfw content or anything.

by SesuRescue (Kigachan)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Flufftober 2018, Gaster didn't fall into the core, Good dad Gaster, Grillby and Fuku are siblings, M/M, No Smut, Papyrus and Sans live in New Home, Slice of Life, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 10:19:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 28,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16157045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kigachan/pseuds/SesuRescue
Summary: It's Flufftober! 31 days of fluffy SFW content for my favorite pair, Papby! <3





	1. Day 1: Meeting at a party/event

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to another 31 days of Papby content, the SFW edition this year! I've been wanting to do this challenge ever since I saw it last year, so here's hoping I can carry through with it!
> 
> I am working from a Canon Divergence AU that explores a universe where Gaster never fell into the CORE, so hopefully you all can enjoy!
> 
> You can find the list that I'll be using for this challenge  HERE  (+18 tumblr!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby goes to his sister's graduation event and meets someone new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I am not allowed to go over 700 words  
> Also me: w h o o p s

The steady beat of the bass reverberated loudly in the club and in Grillby's head. He leaned against the wall where the flashing lights didn't quite reach, wondering if he had been there long enough to legally be allowed to leave.

He used to be better than this, back in the days when he was a teenager. He would go out to game arcades on good days, and on bad days he would use his makeshift ID and bluff his way into one of the many bars in New Home. However, now he was old, the flashy atmosphere he once loved was too much for him.

He swept his gaze across the floor, or at least as much as he could see in the thick crowd, and looked for the monster of the hour. It wouldn't do to leave without saying hi to her at least once.

“Are you looking for me?” An energetic voice piped up from the left. Grillby turned to the source of the noise and found a short fire elemental with green flames, just the monster he was looking for. Her clothing was short, as Grillby would expect from an outfit in the club, and he had to stop himself from lecturing her. A clutch bag swung freely from her arm, and in that hand, a fruity looking drink. On her head sat an cheap but elaborate tiara with the words ‘COLLEGE GRAD’ in sparkling silver. “Heyo, brother!” She smiled.

“[Fuku,]” Grillby crackled, using his flames to accentuate his words. “[Must you scare me like that all the time?]”

Fuku laughed, slapping Grillby's arm lightly with her free hand. “It's not my fault you're so jumpy now. Geez, I gotta get you out of that sleepy town more often.” She wiped a quick molten tear from her eye before continuing. “So, how are you enjoying the atmosphere?”

“[I uh…it's a little overwhelming, honestly. I was just looking for you to pass on your gift before leaving.]”

“What?! You can't leave yet, the party has barely started! You haven't met any of my friends either! Look, just because you're 30 now--”

“[29],” Grillby corrected sharply.

“--Doesn't mean you get to pretend you're too old to hang. Besides, it's my graduation party, Grillby! You owe me.”

Grillby sighed wearily. Fuku was right, of course. She was the only one between the two of them to complete college, and he couldn't imagine the stress she must've carried with her since he left home. He guessed a headache in the morning was the least he could do to make it up to her. “[Fine, I'll stay, but I don't know anyone here. Obviously, I can't just stick next to you all night, so introduce me.]”

“I can do that. But first…” Fuku held her hand out. After a moment of confusion, Grillby nodded and dug into his jacket, pulling out a plain orange envelope with her name on it. He passed it over to her, and she placed it in her clutch bag with little effort. “Alright, who to see first…Oh, have you met Papyrus?”

“[I haven't met anyone yet,]” Grillby deadpanned.

“That's weird, he's usually introduced himself to the entire place by now. Let's go find him.” Fuku took a quick sip of her drink before pulling Grillby in the direction of the dance floor.

After getting bumped and jostled by the rowdy crowd, Grillby suddenly found himself shoved into a seat at the bar. While he worked on getting himself re-oriented, he heard a loud voice to his right.

“--You know, I don't think I'd had the pleasure of meeting him yet!”

Fuku took a seat beside Grillby, talking to who he assumed was her friend. “You're in for a treat! Grillby, look alive! Meet my pal, Papyrus!”

Grillby turned his head to greet the newcomer (a skeleton, he noted), only to do a double take as he took the rest of the monster in. If he thought Fuku's attire was short, this friend of hers was practically obscene. They had on a purple tube top that covered very little, and over it wore a neon-green mesh shirt. Their black shorts seemed to barely cover their bottom, showing off long legs that gave way to a pair of shimmering heels.

“[Uh…]” Grillby was at a loss for words. Luckily, the bizarre skeleton took it as a compliment.

“Ah! You must be speechless at my impeccable clubwear! I went all out to celebrate my best friend Fuku's graduation bash! You're the esteemed brother, Grillby, correct?”

“That's right!” Fuku rubbed Grillby's back affectionately before getting to her feet. “Keep him company, will you? It's been a while since he's been to a club and he's a little nervous.”

“Of course, you can count on me!”

Grillby paled, she was leaving him? “[Fuku, wait--]” But she was already gone. He eyed the stranger beside him, who was giving him a bright smile. He returned it cautiously, feeling his unease rise.

This was going to be a long night.


	2. Day 2: First Awkward Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus, while at a party for his old Sewing Club friend, meets her older brother for the first time. Too bad he completely messes up his first impression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Callout post to myself to actually follow my guidelines, man.
> 
> Tags: Lying (deliberately not telling the truth), blushing, sex proposition

Papyrus took a good look at the fire monster in front of him. Fuku had talked about her brother before, the black sheep of the family who left Hotland to start a business. Somehow Papyrus expected him to look…different? More rugged, maybe? Probably more green as well. 

He definitely didn't expect the tall, attractive monster in front of him. Vivid orange flames made up Grillby's body, shifting and flickering softly as he crossed his arms in front of him.

Fuku mentioned that he was a little nervous...luckily, Papyrus knew exactly what to do for that!

He thrust his hand out in Grillby’s direction. “I don't think I got a chance to introduce myself officially, but I'm Papyrus, also known as the Great Papyrus, friend to all!”

Grillby glanced down at the offered hand, and after a moment shook it quickly. His mouth opened and sparks shot out, along with something indecipherable. 

“Come again?” Papyrus asked. 

Grillby shifted slightly in front of him, flames tinting as he slowly got to his feet and stepped closer. Papyrus could feel his face growing warm at the sudden proximity. He sucked in an unnecessary breath as Grillby crept further still, and his skull warmed considerably near where his ears would be. 

Wait, was that from Grillby's flames or was he blushing? 

“...I apologize, but my voice is a little too soft to be heard over the music.”

“O-oh, it's okay, not everyone can hope to have strong vocals such as I, nyeh heh…” Papyrus chuckled, forcing a cough to cover his sudden nervousness. Grillby laughed along with him, the gentle snaps and hisses enough to let Papyrus know that yes, he was definitely blushing from this cute monster. 

Wowie. 

“...You wouldn’t happen to know any sign language, would you?” Grillby rasped against his skull. “...I fear that it’s the best way we’ll be able to communicate.”

Oh! Papyrus knew a sign language! “I do! My father speaks in signs, so I’m sure I’ll be able to understand you!” 

What he didn’t say was that his father spoke in WingDings, which was more of an audible sign language, but they shouldn’t be too different, right? 

Much to Papyrus’s chagrin, Grillby pulled back so that there was a respectable distance between them again. He took his seat at the bar, and Papyrus followed suit, seating himself in the stool behind him. He crossed his legs dramatically (a skill learned from one of Mettaton’s self-help guides on flirting), taking extra care to ‘accidentally’ brush his heel against Grillby’s leg. The elemental responded with a small jump, and his flames mimicked the action. 

“So,” Papyrus started, leaning forward slightly, “What kind of business do you run?”

Grillby raised a hand to his chin. Papyrus watched in fascination as he fluidly crossed his first two fingers and touched them to both sides of his chin. 

Even though Grillby was made entirely of fire, Papyrus noticed how smooth his hands were. Wasn’t it odd that he would consider the word ‘smooth’ to describe fire? He was suddenly overcome with a yearning to find out just how smooth Grillby’s hands actually were. Was this a normal reaction to a monster he just met?

A soft snap pulled Papyrus back to the situation at hand, and with a growing horror, he realized he had no idea what Grillby just said. Apparently, this sign language was different than what he was used to. He should probably tell Grillby that he couldn’t actually figure out what was being said.

...Or he could save face and lie his coccyx off.

…He really should be truthful though.

………

“That is a fine profession for one such as yourself! I bet you are very popular back there!” 

Looked like lying is the ‘in’ thing to do today. Although technically, he wasn’t lying! He was just...improvising on what he thought was said, yeah! 

Papyrus tried his best to get through the rest of the conversation, nodding when Grillby finished signing and talking about himself where he could. He thought that he was doing pretty well, but then Grillby suddenly stopped and beckoned him forward with his finger. Sweating, Papyrus leaned closer, only to gasp as Grillby’s hand touched his cheekbone.

“...You haven’t understood a word I’ve been saying, have you?”

“What?! That’s pr-preposterous! I am perfectly able to read all forms of sign, even the weird hand-wavey one you have!”

“...So, you’re telling me that you understood and agreed to come back to my place and--” Grillby pulled his hand away and hooked his pointer finger. He tapped it at his chin, and then his temple. “Do that?”

“I..uh…” Geez, was it hot in here or was it just Papyrus? Grillby couldn’t be suggesting anything too bad, so it was best to agree. “Yes, that’s exactly what we’re going to do! Let us leave and do...whatever that is!”

To his surprise, Grillby sighed and got to his feet. With a small smile, he patted Papyrus on the shoulder. “...I figured as much. For what it’s worth, I did enjoy our conversation. Maybe we can have a proper one someday. Give Fuku my regards when you see her.”  

“Wait!” Papyrus stood up, but Grillby had already slipped into the crowd.

Well, he messed that up, didn’t he? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up sign language for you guys, please take this as my dedication to Flufftober. For your information, the two words Grillby signed were 'restaurant' and 'sex' (specifically sexual intercourse)


	3. Day 3: Bumping into Each Other at Coffee Shop/Store/Middle of Street

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On his way home from work, Papyrus had a chance encounter with a handsome fire elemental, and take a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELP ITS ONLY DAY 3 AND I LOVE THEM.
> 
> Tags: That feel when you remember something dumb you did in 7th grade and cringe internally, fluff

Papyrus rolled out from under the zoo of tangled electrical wires, steel, and machinery, checking one last time to make sure he didn’t leave anything before getting to his feet. He brushed off his lab coat, nodding to a few of his colleagues as they passed by him on the way out the door. They were coal engineers, based on the soot clinging to their bodies. Those guys were usually up early in the morning to perform tests on the CORE’s systems down near the lava bank and then surveyed the pools for the rest of the day. 

Even though their jobs were wildly different, what with Papyrus being a pure mechanical engineer for the more delicate parts of the CORE, he couldn’t help but feel a bond with them. Maybe he should try asking them out for drinks again. Last time didn’t go quite as well but, maybe this time…

“hey paps, you leavin’ with me?” 

Papyrus turned around to see Sans, his older brother and also a fellow coworker. He had already shed his work attire for the day, looking far more comfortable in his hoodie and shorts. 

“Leave without me, I still need to look at one more thing.”

Sans shrugged. “do you. can’t get mad if i end up making something gross for dinner, though.”

“Sans, I won’t be gone for hours! Besides, you can cook when you try.”

“hmmm, nah that’s a fabricated lie. anyway, see you at home. if you run into dad--”

“I’ll drag him with me,” Papyrus laughed. “See you!”

He waited for Sans to go through the door before walking off in the other direction towards the main corridor. When he got to the entrance he punched in a few keys at the keypad on the wall, waiting for the doors to open before stepping in. 

He made his way to a familiar panel on the wall, unscrewing the bolts keeping it tethered to the wall. He pulled it off, exposing the wires that he had spent the last couple of days neatening up. It was a work in progress, with an end goal of having all of the wires in the CORE nice and orderly, but that probably wouldn’t happen for a long time. 

Papyrus sighed heavily, letting his shoulders slacken for a moment. Then, he perked up again. Time to get to work!

_______________________________________________

About a half hour later Papyrus left the CORE, stretching his arms up high as he walked towards New Home. It was a warm day out, as were most days on this side of Hotland, and he felt gratitude towards the fact that he was a skeleton. He couldn’t imagine being any other monster in this climate, aside from the beings made of fire.

Speaking of fire monsters…

Papyrus groaned audibly, bringing his hands up to his face in embarrassment. God, he rightfully fucked up that encounter last week. When he recounted the entire affair to Fuku after the fact she laughed so hard at him, and finally explained how her brother had a birth defect. It affected whatever biology allowed flame elementals to speak, and because of it, he couldn’t speak above a whisper. 

So not only had Papyrus lied, he also inadvertently acted callously towards someone else’s disability. He certainly was something.

Well now that he was feeling the residual cringe yet again this week, Papyrus decided that maybe he should just lay on his bedroom floor and feel like garbage. Or better yet, he could lay on Sans’s floor and become one with his garbage instead. Or maybe he could even just throw himself straight into the trash tornado.

Papyrus had been so deep into an internal debate with himself about the properties of trash that he didn’t even notice the other monster heading in his direction, that is until they crashed into each other. 

He scrambled to his feet, flustered beyond belief. What was wrong with him?! “Youch, I am so sorry! Gosh, I have just been all out of sorts today! Are you okay…” Papyrus paused with his hand held out, trailing off when he saw who he had knocked over. “Grillby?” 

The monster on the ground--Grillby--looked up, flames curling into a wispy looking question mark at the top of his head. “...Oh, hello again. Papyrus, right?” 

Grillby took Papyrus’s hand, using the momentum to get to his feet. He brushed off his clothing, checking for any stains, before bringing his attention back to Papyrus. “...You look different without the heels.”   
  


“I hear that all the time!” Papyrus laughed, cursing himself for such an odd response.  _ You’ve literally never heard that in your life!!!  _ He allowed himself to calm down slightly before wracking his head for a topic starter.  _ Something normal, please. _ “So, what are you doing in New Home?” 

“...Just picking up some personal things before going home. You?”

“I live here!” Papyrus mentally smacked himself. Wasn’t it obvious that he lived here?! “I-I mean, just heading home myself, nyeh heh heh.”

Grillby nodded, looking Papyrus up and down once more. “...Well, I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

“Yes, you too!” Papyrus waved and turned in the direction of his home before stopping. Did he really want to leave it like this? “Uhm, Grillby!” He turned back around quickly, relieved to see the elemental hadn’t gotten too far. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to invite you out for coffee!”

Grillby tilted his head to the side. “...Coffee, with me?”

“Yes! I’ve been thinking since our last encounter, and I would like to try out having a proper conversation if that’s alright with you!” Papyrus hung his head, averting his eye sockets from what he knew would be a judging gaze. What possible reason would Grillby have for going out with him--

“...Sure.”

Papyrus looked up, shocked. “What?!”

“...I mean, I’ll go out to coffee with you. What day were you thinking?”

“I--uhm! My schedule is always free, so whatever works for you!”

“Hmm...How about this Saturday then? If it’s around the morning or early afternoon I should be available to come down and be back home at a reasonable time.”

Papyrus grinned, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. He felt lightheaded, yet happy. So very, very happy. “I think I can accommodate for that!”

The two of them settled on a place and time, and after that Grillby left with a wave, leaving Papyrus standing in the middle of the sidewalk. He turned around and walked briskly, waiting until he was past the threshold of his home before squealing happily.

He had a date!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun facts, my dad had a similar problem to Grillby's.


	4. Day 4: First Coffee Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby goes out for a coffee date with Papyrus!

Grillby wasn't sure what possessed him to accept Papyrus's offer for a date. The skeleton was odd, well, more so than other monsters he had met before. It also didn't help that his first impression left a lot to be desired. 

Despite that, there was something charming about the skeleton, an air about him that made Grillby want to meet him again. It was good fortune that he managed to miraculously run into him in the street while shopping. Of course, he wasn't expecting to be asked out to coffee, but it was really nice? 

Grillby couldn't remember the last time he had been on a date, so it had been a struggle trying to figure out how to prepare for it. Eventually, he settled for a nice top and slacks and then left for the docks. 

After a short boat ride, a trip up the escalator in Hotland, and a walk around the CORE, Grillby finally made it into New Home. He walked to the café Papyrus had proposed (one that he actually had been to once or twice with his sister) and entered the shop, surprised to see Papyrus already there. He was sitting at a table in the corner, focused on some sort of book in front of him. 

Didn't Grillby plan his commute to get here early? He checked his watch: fifteen minutes before their scheduled meeting time. 

How long had Papyrus been waiting?? 

Grillby headed over to the table, raising his hand in greeting. “...You're here early.”

Papyrus looked up with a start, calming once he realized who it was. “I am! I wanted to make sure we got a nice, quiet spot so that I'd be able to hear you clearly. Here, take a seat, I'll grab us some drinks! What do you like?”

“...Uh…just Flame Coffee is fine, thanks.” 

“Okay, be right back!”

Papyrus ran off, leaving Grillby to take a seat at the table. He glanced at the book Papyrus left behind, curious to see what it was Papyrus had been doing before he left. Grillby wasn’t sure what he was expecting; maybe a comic book or a novel. Papyrus seemed like the type to read, right? 

Instead, what Grillby saw was a page of a very complicated diagram that he didn’t understand at all. There were triangles labeled with some sort of symbols, as well as small circles here and there. Long, straight lines connected each triangle to the other, and some lines were even connected by other wavy lines. There were numbers all over the place, and Grillby found that he had no idea what this was. Work, maybe? Was he allowed to look at it?

He sat back in his chair and waited for Papyrus to return with their drinks, and then asked him about the book. 

“This? They’re circuit problems! Simple Op Amp practice!”   
  


“...I have no idea what that is,” Grillby took a quick sip from his cup. A little too bitter. “...And I don’t think any amount of explaining will help.”

“It’s something I got into while I was in school. I like puzzles, so doing logic problems like this is interesting to me. Sugar?”

Grillby nodded, taking the offered sugar and pouring it into his cup. He felt Papyrus’s eyes on him as he stirred his drink, and glanced up to meet his gaze. “...Is everything alright?”

“Oh, yes, sorry! I just--do you like sweet things?” 

Grillby’s fire flickered in confusion. “...I think I’m pretty neutral on them. If I were offered something sweet I wouldn’t turn it down. Why? Do you have sweet things for me?”

“I!” Papyrus blushed and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I just wanted to get to know you more! Last time I talked all about myself, so this time I wanted it to be about you!”

...Oh, that’s new. Grillby wasn’t used to talking about himself. Usually, he listened to other’s problems, whether it was his sister or his patrons. It wasn’t that he hated it but...It was nice to do something different for a change.

“...Hmm, where should I begin?”

“Well, how old are you, for starters?”

“...Bringing out the tough questions already,” Grillby teased. “I’m twenty-nine.”

“Wow, really?! I’m twenty-four--but I think you might’ve already known that. Okay, what else...what do you like to do for fun?”

“...It depends on how I feel after work. Sometimes I just watch television, but if it’s a good day I’ll go to Waterfall.”

“Why there?” Papyrus asked.

“...There’s a place that I like to go to in order to relax.” Grillby didn’t mention the piano just yet. He had to keep a little bit of his mystery at least. Luckily Papyrus didn’t pry too much into it. 

Their date continued in much of the same way, with Papyrus asking this and that and Grillby answering. He talked about Snowdin mostly. He described his restaurant, a nice bar and grill that attracted the local residents in every day for dinner and drinks, and some of the other places in town, like the Inn and the General Store. Papyrus had been particularly enthused when Grillby mentioned how much he had to bundle up to leave his restaurant in the morning and had nearly fallen over in laughter.

This was fun, Grillby realized after a while. He had never really connected with someone else like this before, and when the time for him to leave came and passed, he found himself conflicted. Couldn’t he just...stay here and converse with Papyrus more?

“Don’t you need to head back soon?” Papyrus finally asked as he glanced at his phone.

Grillby sighed. “...I do, unfortunately. Thank you for inviting me out, I had...a lot of fun. How much do I owe you for the drink?”

“Nothing! Since this was a date, I paid for us both!”

“...Thank you, Papyrus.” Grillby got up from his chair. He looked at Papyrus, trying to organize his thoughts for what he wanted to say next. Did he want to ask him out again? Maybe invite him to the restaurant, on the house?

Eventually, Grillby decided to lean over the table and grab a stray napkin. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and quickly jotted down his number before passing it over to Papyrus. “...Text me sometime?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These guys do a lot of talking, hahaha. 
> 
> I didn't know exactly where I was going to go for this day, but I knew that no matter what, I wanted to end it with Grillby giving Papyrus his number on a napkin. Why?
> 
> BECAUSE IT'S CUTE ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;


	5. Day 5: Flirty Texting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus gets a little in over his head asking for advice from Sans. Somehow it all works out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags: Familial teasing, mention of dirty texting (though none actually occurs), embarrassment out the wazoo

“hey paps, whatcha doin’?” 

Papyrus looked up from the coffee table to his right, taking in the slovenly appearance of his brother. “I'm just…thinking,” he said. 

“yeah, I get that. but you've been here for hours hunched over, just staring at your phone and that scrap of paper. you sure you're alright?”

Oh, had he been here for that long? Papyrus unlaced his fingers from under his chin, wincing slightly when his fingers ached in response. He moved his head from side to side to loosen up his neck vertebrae, sighing in relief. “Yes, but…well, can I ask you for some advice, Sans?”

Sans's brow bones shot up and he let out a low whistle. “wow, the great papyrus asking for  _ my  _ help? this must be serious.” He took a seat on the couch next to Papyrus. “alright, lay it on me.”

“Well, I went on a date last week.”

“that flame dude, right? how did it go?”

“It went really well, I think! He was just so cute, and his voice is really nice to listen to, and his flames are cute too…” Papyrus trailed off as he replayed the date in his head for the umpteenth time that week. 

Sans's grin quirked up slightly. “sounds like you have an  _ acute  _ case of love-sickness, bro.”

“Sans, that’s--” Papyrus covered his face. He could feel the warm thrumming of his magic coursing through his skull, and he just knew he must've been blushing up a storm. He took a second to calm down before he continued. “In any case! Grillby gave me his number and told me to text him, but I have no idea what to say.”

“oh, is that all? i gotchu, bro.” 

Before Papyrus could react Sans had already scooped up his phone and the napkin from the coffee table. His fingers typed quickly on the keyboard, and by the time Papyrus finally retrieved his phone, whatever Sans sent had already went through. “What did you send?!?!” He nearly screamed, eyes bulging out of his sockets. 

“don't worry bro, i'm a pro at conversation starters.” The phone suddenly chimed in Papyrus’s hands, and Sans nodded to it. “see, good results already. open it up, let's see what he said.”

Grumbling, Papyrus unlocked his phone and went to his messages. There was a new unread message from a number he was all too familiar with. He steeled himself for…whatever was about to occur and opened the message. 

**To** : xxx-xxxx 14:12  
_ hey there, hot stuff.  _

“Sans, what the hell! I don't type like this!” Papyrus moaned. 

“chill, pappio, let's see what the flame man said first.”

**From** : xxx-xxxx 14:13  
_ Hello. Seeing as I haven't given my number out to too many strangers, I'm going to hazard a guess and say that this is Papyrus. How are you doing? _

Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief. “Somehow, he wasn't turned off by your crude message.”

“told ya, i'm a pro. so, you gonna respond or…”

“Yes, I am! I just have to figure out what to say…”

“words are good.”

Papyrus glared at Sans before looking back at the phone in his hands. This couldn't be too hard, right? Texting wasn't new to him, but texting a cute monster? 

Well, he would just have to try his best, right?”

**To:** xxx-xxxx 14:14  
_ I AM DOING WELL. JUST ENJOYING A RELAXING DAY OFF IN MY PAJAMAS.  _

**From** : xxx-xxxx 14:14  
_ Oh, your typing has changed. In any case, that sounds nice. I don't have a day off today, but I don't have to get ready for work until 4. _

“oh, you should ask him what he's wearing. ” Sans said, worming himself into Papyrus’s lap face first so he could see better. Papyrus sighed and lifted his arms up temporarily so Sans could get comfortable. 

“What, why?” 

Sans shrugged. “it's polite?”

Well, Papyrus couldn't argue with that. 

**To** : xxx-xxxx 14:15  
_ OH, THAT SOUNDS NICE. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?  _

The next reply took a few minutes to come in, but when it did Papyrus nearly combusted.

**From:** xxx-xxxx 14:20  
_ I am not wearing much, just a pair of shorts. I…can't say that I'm too well-versed in dirty texting, but I'm willing to try if you want to? _

“wow, you sure nabbed a good one there,” Sans laughed heartily, wiping a tear from his sockets. “my bro's growing up so fast.”

“SANSSSSS!” Papyrus grabbed a nearby pillow and shoved his face into it with a scream. “Oh my god, what did you make me do?!?!” 

“heh, it looks like things are getting--” 

“Don't you dare--” 

“ _ hot  _ and heavy.”

Papyrus screamed into the pillow once more. Was it possible to dust from embarrassment? 

Before he could melt into the floor, a low static sound filled his head. He looked up from the pillow to see his father, Gaster, in the stairwell, gazing at the two of them in a mixture of confusion and worry. 

“ **Are you two alright? I heard screaming.”** He signed. 

“don't worry g, paps is just getting a crash course in monster biology. he's texting his  _ boyfriend. _ ” Sans added in a stage whisper. 

“ **A boyfriend?** ” Gaster scurried over to the couch, taking a seat on Papyrus’s free side. “ **I didn't know you were dating anyone.** ”

“I--”

“oh yeah, it's totally getting serious, check out these texts.”

“Sans, wait!!” 

Sans quickly passed the phone over to Gaster, who took it carefully into his fingers. He held the phone in a way so that it wouldn't slip through the holes in his hands and he read eagerly. “ **Oh my, Papyrus, I didn't know you could be so forward.”**

“But I--” 

“yeah,” Sans interrupted, yet again. “A regular casanova. we'll probably have to start sleeping with headphones--” 

“ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH.” Papyrus (gently) grabbed the phone from his father and pushed Sans out of his lap to the floor. His face was bright orange as he stood up. “I AM GOING UP TO MY ROOM TO TEXT GRILLBY. ALONE.”

Papyrus turned around and headed for the stairwell, ignoring the teasing set of eyes on his back as he went up to his room. 

God, the two of them were just too much! 

Once Papyrus had gotten into his room, he mentally prepared him to do damage control over the whole situation. 

**To:** xxx-xxxx 14:30  
_ I AM SO SORRY GRILLBY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO INSINUATE THAT AT ALL, I WAS JUST BEING CURIOUS.  _

**From:** xxx-xxxx 14:31  
_A shame. It's alright, I was merely just teasing you. I was a little worried when you didn't answer, and I thought I scared you off._

**To:** xxx-xxxx 14:31  
_A FRIENDLY JAPE! CONSIDER ME THOROUGHLY FOOLED THEN. I APOLOGIZE, I GOT CAUGHT UP IN MY FAMILY'S SHENANIGANS. MY BROTHER WAS GIVING ME ADVICE ON WHAT TO SAY BUT…_

**From:** xxx-xxxx 14:32  
_ Was that him who texted me the first time?  _

**To** : xxx-xxxx 14:32  
_ YES, THAT WAS SANS.  _

**From** : xxx-xxxx 14:32  
_ So do you not think I'm ‘hot stuff’?  _

Papyrus blushed. 

**To:** xxx-xxxx 14:33  
__THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL! I DO FIND YOU VERY...HOT.  
AND CHARMING.   
AND QUITE IRRESISTIBLE IF I'M BEING HONEST.

Wait, what was Papyrus doing?! He couldn't just confess his undying feelings to Grillby in a text! He hurried to type another response. 

**To** : xxx-xxxx 14:34  
_ PLEASE IGNORE ALL OF THAT.  _

**From:** xxx-xxxx 14:34  
_ Hmm…nah, I don't think I will. Tell me, Papyrus, what's on your schedule for tomorrow?  _

Huh? 

**To:** xxx-xxxx 14:35  
_ IT'S SUNDAY, SO I'M FREE. WHY?  _

**From:** xxx-xxxx 14:35  
_ Would you like to go on a date with me to Waterfall?  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone please stop me from writing so much. I really need to tone this down or I'm not gonna be able to last the entire month, but they're just so cute ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
> 
> Also I promise this is rated T, although maybe I should push it to M just in case...Not because I plan on putting any dirty stuff in or anything, but maybe to cover my butt just in case??? bahahaha. I mean, it is an adult relationship, and even if I don't plan on writing any of that stuff in-depth, maybe even the joking around of 'hey my bros getting naughty' might be a more mature thing.
> 
> OH! Sorry one more thing: a headcanon! Since I'm labeling Wingdings as an 'audible sign language' , I imagine that if a person isn't directly looking at Gaster when he's talking, instead of hearing what he says it comes out as static.


	6. Day 6: Surprise Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby and Papyrus go on another date, this time in Waterfall!

It was drizzling, as was the norm for this area of Waterfall. Water fell from the low hanging clouds of the caverns and dripped to the ground with small  _ plops.  _ Grillby held his umbrella closer to his head as he waited at the docks for his date. He idly wondered if he remembered to tell Papyrus to bring an umbrella of his own, and when the Riverperson’s boat finally appeared he learned that, no, he did not remember. 

“Grillby, I made it!” Papyrus called happily, stepping off the boat. He turned to offer a quick thanks to the cloaked figure, and then he walked over. “Were you waiting long?”

“...No,” Grillby shook his head. “...You didn’t happen to bring an umbrella, did you?”

“I wasn’t aware I needed one.”

“...It’s okay, it was my error. We can…” Grillby slowed as if realizing what he was about to suggest. Perhaps that was why he forgot to tell him? “...Share mine?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose!” Papyrus said, waving his hands in front of him. “Besides, don’t you need to protect yourself from the rain?”

“...I do.” Grillby moved closer to Papyrus and looped an arm through Papyrus’s jacketed one. He leaned in close and rested his head on Papyrus’s shoulder, catching a whiff of some sort of cologne. “If we walk like this, both of us can be protected.” 

As Grillby expected, Papyrus blushed slightly. “If it uh, works for you, let’s do it.” 

The two of them began walking. Grillby directed him through the new area, pointing out random facts about the different rooms. At first, he had planned to take Papyrus to the Wishing Room; a room where monsters had placed artificial stars on the ceiling and walls to mimic the night sky. He thought it might be nice, but he knew that the place could possibly be a bit depressing if one began to think about what the actual night sky looked like. 

So instead, Grillby decided to take Papyrus to an area that he found once by mistake. He stopped in the room adjacent and pulled away from the admittedly warm touch. Papyrus tilted his head in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“...There’s a puzzle I have to do to continue.” Grillby knelt down on the ground and grabbed the flower seeds off the floor. “...Would you believe that I found this place on accident?”

Papyrus perked up at the mention of a puzzle. “You  _ accidentally _ solved this puzzle?”

Grillby laughed. “...Yes and no. These seeds bloom into flowers when they make contact with the water. One day I came through here from Snowdin, and I was a little weary. I was supposed to place these over there to continue through--” Grillby gestured to the way they came--”...But instead, I put them over here, and found someplace new.”

“A secret area!” Papyrus said in wonder.

“...Exactly.” Grillby placed the seeds into the water and let them drift with the current. Once the last seed had been placed and bloomed, Grillby called Papyrus over. “...It’s right through there, you want to go first?”

“Oh, sure!” Papyrus took a hesitant step out, testing the sturdiness of the flower before stepping on it. “Amazing!”

“...Yeah, they do good work on the puzzles here,” Grillby agreed, following behind Papyrus.  

All things considered, the place Grillby chose for today wasn’t that fabulous. It was a small area hidden away by a puzzle, and the only objects there were a bench large enough to hold two people, and an Echo Flower. Despite that, Papyrus gasped all the same, turning back to Grillby with literal sparkles in his eye-lights. “Grillby! This place is beautiful!”

Grillby could’ve sworn his SOUL skipped a beat, and took a moment to compose his suddenly erratic flames. “...I-I’m glad you like it. Shall we sit?”

The two of them took a seat on the bench, and Grillby shifted slightly when he realized how close they were. Maybe Papyrus didn’t notice…?

“Wowie, what a close fit!” Damn.

“...I’ve only ever sat on it by myself, so I thought it would fit two people, my mistake.” Grillby apologized.

“So, am I the first person you’ve ever bought here, then?”

Grillby nodded, finally gathering to courage to do what he had planned to do since setting the date up. He reached out--

\--and clasped Papyrus’s hand in his own. 

“...I...uh,” Grillby focused on their hands, rubbing his fingers over the individual joints of Papyrus’s own. “...For some reason, I can’t really get you out of my thoughts. I want to spend more time with you in a more official way, is that okay?”

He hazarded a look up, just in time for Papyrus’s teeth to gently crash against the middle of his face. They touched just briefly before Papyrus pulled back with a bright smile. “Did that answer your question?”

It took Grillby a second to parse exactly what happened, and then he burst out in laughter.    
  


“Hey, why are you laughing? Do other monsters not kiss each other when there’s mutual affection??”

“...Yes, but,” Grillby started between fits of giggles. “...You completely missed my mouth!”

“I can’t kiss what I can’t see!” Papyrus said, gesturing to Grillby’s face. “I had to guess!”

Fully laughed out, Grillby placed his free hand on Papyrus’s neck and edged closer, opening his mouth slightly to show off a jagged smirk. “...Well, I better help you memorize where it is then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A kissu!


	7. Day 7: Netflix and Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby invites Papyrus over to his apartment and accidentally learns some new slang.

Papyrus stomped the snow off of his boots as he stood in front of what he assumed was Grillby’s restaurant. Grillby had told him it would be a straightforward path from the docks when he sent him instructions earlier that day. While Papyrus would agree, he mentally kicked himself for rushing over so fast and not taking the time to explore the town fully. It was his first time in Snowdin, the first time that he’d ever been further than Waterfall in his entire life. He never had any reason to go visit...until now that is. 

It had been a few weeks since Grillby and Papyrus decided to start dating, and it was just like a dream come true. They had been on a few dates since then, usually to explore the other areas of Waterfall. Grillby had shown him the Wishing Room, a lovely area that mimicked the feel of the night sky on the surface, the Snail farm run by a shy ghost named Napstablook, and even another secret room behind one of the many waterfalls in the area!

With every successful date, Papyrus could feel the two of them grow closer as a couple, and finally, Grillby had asked him if he wanted to come over to his place. To visit his boyfriend in his home, alone? Scandalous!

Of course, Papyrus wanted to!

His eyes glanced over the ‘Closed’ sign in the window as he peered through the glass, curious to see what the place looked like. Though the glass was foggy from the cold temperature outside, Papyrus could make out a few tables and a bar counter in the back. Liquor bottles sat on shelves in a rather large cabinet behind the counter, and Papyrus guessed that Grillby must be a rather knowledgeable bartender as well as business owner. How neat! 

The soft crunch of footsteps pulled Papyrus’s attention away from the building, and he looked over to see Grillby standing off to the side--well, at least he was pretty sure it was Grillby. 

The monster was bundled in a large coat that ran all the way down to their ankles, where Papyrus could just make out a sliver of thick boots underneath. The furry hood of the coat was pulled low over the monster’s head, and an assortment of large, fluffy scarves covered the monster’s face and neck.

“Grillby?”

The monster--Grillby-- raised a hand up in greeting. He turned back towards the side of the building and took a step, gesturing for Papyrus to follow. The two of them walked around to a nondescript door on the side of the building, and Grillby fished into one of the pockets and brought out a ring of keys. Gloved hands picked out a long key with a red label on it and unlocked the door. “......You first,” Grillby said, barely loud enough for Papyrus to hear if he wasn’t paying attention. 

Papyrus stepped through the door and stomped his feet on a grey mat, waiting for instruction on where to go next. He turned back to ask Grillby, only to giggle when he came face-to-face with his covered visage. “Oh my god, it’s so hard to take you seriously with all of this,” he snorted. 

“......Oh, sorry,” Grillby said, pulling his hood down. He quickly unwrapped the scarves from top to bottom, slowly revealing his face and flames. “...I always have to be careful, just in case.”

Papyrus smiled, leaning in to nuzzle his teeth to Grillby’s face. “I’m just surprised you’re able to see like that. How are you doing?”

“...Good, but better now that you’re here,” Grillby said, giving Papyrus a fiery smooch. “...Here, let’s go up to my apartment. Better than standing here in the cold, right?”

Grillby led Papyrus up the stairs to another door, using a green marked key to open the door. A heavy blast of hot air rushed out as the door opened and Papyrus snickered; this was definitely a fire elemental’s place, alright. He took off his boots in the doorway, placing them on the shoe rack by the door before slowly exploring Grillby’s place. 

If he could only use one word to describe the decor, Papyrus would use the word ‘sturdy’. Everything was large, from the couch to the bookshelf, and seemed like it would take at least three of the burliest monsters to move everything. Even the coffee table was short, thick, and looked to be made of some sort of smooth stone. All of this must’ve been bought in Hotland, Papyrus guessed. 

“So, what do you want to do?” Papyrus asked as he explored. He had wandered over to the bookshelf to see what Grillby kept on it, and to his delight found a framed photograph of Grillby and Fuku in front of the restaurant. “Did you have any plans?”

Grillby’s voice came from the kitchen. “...Not really, I mostly just wanted to have you over. We could drink, we could watch some TV and Chill, we--”

“Wait, what?!” Papyrus sputtered, nearly dropping the photo to the ground. He rushed over to the kitchen doorway and stared incredulously at Grillby with orange cheekbones.

“...Huh? Is there something wrong with my suggestions?” Grillby asked. 

“No, that’s not it, it’s just--do you know what that means?”

“...‘Drinking?’”

“The other one!”

“‘TV and Chill?’ Did you want to?”

“It’s!” Papyrus glanced to the side. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but I think we have two different ideas on what that means!”

Grillby tilted his head in confusion. “Is it not sitting together on the couch and watching television?”

“It is! Well, it is and it isn’t…” Papyrus rubbed his phalanges over his burning face. “See, it’s also a slang term in New Home, and they use it to mean…”

“...To mean?”

“To suggest sex.”

Grillby mouth opened and closed silently. “...Wow, the youth sure are rambunctious these days,” He said finally, shaking his head. 

Papyrus burst out in relieved laughter. “You’re not that much older than I am, Grillby!”

“...In any case, I meant  _ actually  _ chilling. I’m just going to prepare some snacks, and you can look to see if there’s anything good on. Sound okay?”

Papyrus nodded. “Sounds great!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, every day after I finish writing my Flufftober day and check my wordcount: hwat the fuck, please stop this me. 
> 
> I've given up on honoring my word limits rule at this point, but I'm still sticking to the 'have fun and don't stress!'


	8. Day 8: Argument over Netflix and Chill choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby is a patient man, but Papyrus is really stretching it with his shit tv choices

“...I can't believe it,” Grillby muttered from the kitchen doorway. 

Papyrus turned around and draped himself over the back of the couch, grinning. “I know, right? An all-day marathon, we're so lucky!” He exclaimed happily. 

Grillby was a patient man. He had to be in his line of work. Every day he had patrons who were young, old, or just plain indecisive, so he learned very quickly how to deal with it. Despite this, he could feel his patience quickly dwindling as he caught sight of the television screen. 

Who knew that his new boyfriend had such shit taste? 

The show, in particular, was an MTT featured one (like most--if not all of the shows in the Underground), a reality-type show where Mettaton picked out a few lucky monsters from New Home and put them up in one of his mansions for a few weeks. It was trash, plain and simple, and had barely lasted a season and a half before it was abruptly pulled from the air. 

(Ironically, shortly afterward Mettaton decided that in all subsequent shows and movies he would play every role needed, and that just couldn't be a coincidence.)

He knew all about it from Fuku unfortunately, who would call him at all hours of the night to rant about it. 

Grillby walked into the room and sat down beside Papyrus, placing a bowl of popcorn on the table in front of them. He rested his arm on the couch behind Papyrus’s head in a decidedly romantic way, smiling when Papyrus cuddled in close to his side. Maybe he could keep his mind off the lackluster show if he focused on how cute Papyrus was instead? 

His tactic had worked pretty well for a while. Papyrus had a surprising amount of flexibility in his face for being a skeleton, and Grillby was sure that he caught at least five different shocked expressions over the course of two or three episodes. He was also quite comfortable for being made of bones, to which Papyrus proclaimed that skeletons were ‘very soft!’. 

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end, and in this case, he happened when Papyrus turned to him and asked what he thought of the show so far. 

“... Uh…” Should he lie or tell the truth? 

Lying would be the easier way out, Grillby knew for a fact. However, he also knew that if he lied, it would mean that he'd have to keep it up for the duration of his relationship with Papyrus. 

He was a patient man, but that was pushing it just a little too far. 

“... I kind of hate it?” 

Judging by the distraught look on Papyrus's face, maybe he could've phrased it slightly better. 

“What do you mean you hate it? ‘Poor Monsters in a Rich House with No Supervision’ is quality television!”

Grillby pulled his arm back towards him so he could face Papyrus fully. “...’Quality’? It's awful, really. Why would monsters want to watch other monsters wander around an empty mansion for hours? It's not like there's any conflict; the monsters just wave to each other and talk.”

“And what's wrong with talking?” Papyrus asked, angling his body towards Grillby. “Sure there's not much action, but the beauty is in seeing how monsters with different personalities interact. Haven't you ever caught yourself rooting for two people to get together?”

“...I mean, yeah, but in the street. If I’m going to watch television, I want to watch about things I can’t physically do, like explosions and high-speed conveyor belt chases.”

“You can do these things, right now!” Papyrus said, gesturing wildly. “We could go out that door right now and make all sorts of explosions declaring our feelings with bullets!”

“...In any case, the show was so bad it didn’t even last through its second season--”

“Which was a  _ shame _ ! It was a very highly rated show--”

Grillby rubbed his hands over his face wearily, feeling his flames rising in irritation. “...Highly rated where Papyrus? All thirteen critic blogs called it a disaster!”

“It was highly rated by ME!”

“... You know that even Mettaton hated the show, right? It didn't have enough action for him, so he was the one that pulled it off the air.”

“I! He…!” Papyrus looked around wildly, trying to logic how to get out of his current predicament. “I...I want a divorce!” 

“... We’re not married,” Grillby said, exasperated. 

Papyrus threw his hands up in the air and stood, stomping his way to the kitchen. Without any footwear or flesh, the sound was weak, lacking the oomph that Papyrus probably wanted. Grillby sighed heavily, leaning back so his head rested against the arm of the couch. He took his glasses off and closed his eyes. He should’ve known better than to engage; if there was one thing he knew, it was to never talk about freedom or television.

Nearly ten minutes passed by in silence before the sad clacking of bones against hardwood crept towards the couch. Grillby braced himself as a weight sunk into the cushions and his chest. He opened his eyes a bit and caught sight of a blurry Papyrus in his arms. “...Are you here to apologize?”

Papyrus mumbled something noncoherent, pushing his face into Grillby’s neck. His arms tightened around Grillby, and Grillby found himself wrapping his own around Papyrus in response. Finally, Papyrus spoke. “Grillby?”

“...Hm?”

“Do you want to get married?”

Grillby’s SOUL skipped. “...I...I mean, isn’t that more of a human thing--”

Papyrus jumped up to his feet and placed his hands on his hips. “It was a ruse! We can’t get married, because I’m divorcing you for your terrible taste!” 

“...Oh my god.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: This chapter has [ FANART ](https://kerangkatelanjang.tumblr.com/post/179557346547/papby-from-this-part-of-a-fanfic-please) <\- NSFW Tumblr
> 
> Fun facts time! Because of my dynamic with my SO (our nearing 7 year relationship is built on sarcasm, mutual gossip, and love, I guess), I do the divorcing schtick with him all the time. HOWEVER, because he's frustratingly neutral on most things, it tends to go like:
> 
> Me: What the fuck, your taste is garbage, I want a divorce.  
> SO: Oh, okay.  
> Me: No, you're supposed to say 'But we aren't married'.  
> SO: Oh, alright.  
> *Some time passes*  
> Me: Hey, wanna get married?  
> SO: Sure.  
> Me: Too late, I want a divorce!  
> SO: Oh my god.
> 
> There are two instances I'm wary on in our relationship: One, the day he finally takes me on a picnic (more on that on day 20), and two, the day he finally plays along with this gag. Both signal 'the fuck is this boy planning' alarms in my head lmaooooooo


	9. Day 9: Late Night Cuddling on the Couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby and Papyrus get comfy on the couch and lose track of time.

After the argument with Grillby, Papyrus decided to have mercy on him and find something they both could watch. Since the couch was massive, the two ended up cuddling together while laying down as they browsed the channels. After nearly going through every single channel twice, Grillby finally stopped him when they passed by a particularly explosive scene.

“... I want to watch this, is that okay?” Grillby asked.

“I guess. Is it some sort of fire elemental thing that attracts you to explosions?” Papyrus asked, scooting back so that his body was flush with Grillby's. Arms wrapped over his ribcage in response and Grillby's fiery head burrowed into his shoulder.

“... Mmm, maybe. I've always been a little hot-headed, so that could be it too.”

Papyrus groaned. “Don't tell me you do fire puns.”

“...Did I make a pun? It wasn't intentional.”

If it wasn't so early in their relationship, Papyrus would've proclaimed his love. Instead, he settled for resting his hands where Grillby held him, lightly squeezing his arms in affection.

As the movie continued to play on the television (a MTT classic that he's seen at least a dozen times), Papyrus focused on Grillby. He was incredibly warm, which only made sense, but he wasn't hot to the point of being unpleasant. Was it something that he had to consciously do, or was it just a natural inclination for elemental bodies? Where did his lack of skin fit in?

And then Grillby’s body: how did it even stay together? Could he manipulate his body into a pile of flames?

The image of a campfire with glasses passed through Papyrus's mind, and his resulting shudder of laughter didn't go unnoticed.

“... What are you giggling at, you cutie?” Grillby asked, poking at Papyrus's cheek.

“Your body--in a purely scientific way,” Papyrus added on hastily. “Elementals are just fascinating.”

Grillby chuckled behind him, a pleasant rumble against his spine. “... I understand what you mean. I was just thinking about how odd it is how soft you are.”

“I told you skeletons are soft and cuddly!”

“... You did, but it still baffles me. I guess that's just one of the perks of dating you,” Grillby said. He pressed a warm kiss to the side of Papyrus's head. Papyrus blushed, ducking forward with a soft ‘nyeh!’ to keep out of Grillby's reach.

They went back to watching the movie, and when that one finished they let the next one play. And then another. And another. Mettaton's movies tended to be short in general, barely half an hour on average, so they were easy to binge and highly addictive. Soon the time began to add up, and when Papyrus felt the urge to check his phone he finally realized how late it had become.

“Grillby, hey Grillby,” Papyrus called. Soft breathing came back in response, prompting him to turn around.

At some point during their cuddling Grillby had fallen asleep, he guessed. His head was prompted upon his arm, glasses hanging low on his face to reveal a small sliver of the magma pools that served as his eyes. His flames swirled around his body slowly, almost lazily, and every now and again sparks erupted from his mouth. It was adorable, and Papyrus wished he could let him be, but it was late, and they hadn't talked about overnight plans.

“Grillby,” Papyrus said a little louder. He poked the middle of Grillby's face, earning a muffled groan in return.

“......?”

“Please, wake up.”

Grillby opened his eyes slowly. “......pyrus? What's up?” He asked, pulling Papyrus in closer with a yawn.

“It's getting late.” Papyrus pulled his phone up so that it was near his face and turned it around so Grillby could see the time. “What time does the last ferry leave?”

“...Mmm...if you rush, you can catch the last one of the night, but I don't mind you sleeping over.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose.”

Grillby yawned again, and Papyrus caught a quick peek at the turbulent flames that made up his inner mouth. So captivating! “...It's no problem at all. I don't work until later in the day, and my couch is big enough for both of us.”

Well, he had no reason to refuse the gracious offer, right? “Okay, let me just text my dad and Sans so they don't worry.”

Grillby nodded. “...Sounds good. I'll be right back while you do that.”

Papyrus sat up so Grillby could slip past him. He stretched his bones, sighing when his joints popped with a particularly good one. He sent out a joint text letting Sans and his dad know his plans, emphasizing the ‘sleeping’ part of him sleeping over.

Of course, his family wouldn't be satisfied with leaving it at that, and he quickly received a text from Sans.

 **From** : The Legendary Fartmaster 00:01  
_right, ‘sleeping’. have fun bro ;)_

Papyrus groaned, flopping back against the cushions.

“...Is everything alright?” Grillby asked? He returned to the couch with a large comforter in his arms.

“Yeah, just my brother being gross.”

“...Oh?” Grillby bent down to read. “...Ha, sounds like a sibling.”

Papyrus shrugged, placing his phone on the couch arm. Grillby coaxed him into laying down, nudging him further in so he could take the spot close to the edge. “... Wouldn't want you to fall,” Grillby said, covering them both with the comforter.

“My hero.” Papyrus pretended to swoon and cuddled closer into Grillby's arms.

Before he could get fully comfortable, his phone chimed with another incoming message.

“Oh my god.” Papyrus felt his skull burning in embarrassment as he went to place his phone back, but Grillby intercepted him.

“... Wait, I want to read it.” He stared at the phone for a few seconds, and then he looked back at Papyrus. “... I have no idea what this says.”

“I refuse to translate,” Papyrus said, putting his phone down and turning over to hide his face.

“... Aw, you're no fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The message from Gaster:
> 
> Remember to practice safe sex, Papyrus. I'm too young to be a grandparent…lol  
> W.D. Gaster


	10. Day 10: First Time Cooking for Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby cooks and tries not to fall too deep in his feelings.

It was no big surprise to Grillby when he woke up in a bundle of fluffy warmth on the floor. He was simultaneously a very heavy and an active sleeper, so mornings like this were common.  It was why he chose the edge of the couch, after all.

He extracted himself carefully from the comforter, letting out a small hiss of discomfort as he sat up. His floor, while beautiful, wasn't the best surface to fall asleep on, and he mentally reminded himself (again) to buy a rug for the area in front of the couch. 

Grillby used the light from his flames to avoid knocking anything off the table as he got to his feet, grabbing his glasses from the couch arm and putting them on. With his newfound sight, he took in Papyrus’s splayed form on the couch. His mouth was wide open, giving Grillby a direct look into the inner spaces of his jaw and--if he changed his angle--his skull cavity. His sockets were dark, which was a little unnerving so Grillby looked away, checking out the rest of him. One arm was thrown over the back of the couch and the other was wrapped around a pillow, and Grillby kinda wished he could sneak back in and replace that pillow with himself. A pang of hunger reminded Grillby why he couldn't. 

After picking up the comforter and gingerly placing it over Papyrus, Grillby walked to the kitchen. He headed for the fridge, running his fingers over the stove to get a fire going for breakfast. He pulled out enough food for two people as well as a snack, the latter of which he took with him back to the living room. Leaning over the back of the couch, Grillby bent down to caress Papyrus's cheek. 

“... Hey cutie, wake up.”

Papyrus groaned something unintelligible and light flickered in his sockets. “Hey, good morning,” He mumbled warmly, nuzzling into Grillby’s hand. 

“... Morning. So I'm making breakfast, is there anything you don't eat?” 

“Uhh, nothing with bones?” 

Grillby nodded. “... Shouldn't be a problem.”

“Do you require any help?” Papyrus started to sit up, but Grillby placed a hand against his chest to stop him. 

“... No need, I have it covered. Go back to sleep.”

Grillby went back to the kitchen. He opened one of his lower cabinets and pulled out his coveted cast iron pan. It was a family heirloom, passed on from generation to generation to the firstborn before they left home. Despite not being the happiest of his departure, Grillby’s mother still made sure that the pan ended up in his things. 

Making a mental note to check up on his family soon, Grillby began to cook. 

By the time Papyrus stalked into the kitchen, Grillby had been well into his breakfast-making. He had bacon sitting off to the side on a plate and made it halfway through his pancake batter (made from scratch, of course). 

“... Hey there sleepy head, how'd you sleep?” Grillby asked over his shoulder. 

“Too long,” Papyrus groaned. “You were too comfy so I slept in. I usually wake up much earlier.”

“... Which is?”

“Three or four am.”

Grillby turned around, giving Papyrus a blank stare. “... That's a joke, right?” 

Papyrus shrugged the blanket off into a nearby chair, offering a non-committal answer. “Anything I can do to help you over there?” 

“... Nah it's okay. You're my guest so I won't make you cook,” Grillby said. He watched Papyrus out of the corner of his eye as he peered over at the uncooked things on the counter. 

“I'm not good at staying put. Here; I'll make these eggs, do you have another pan?”

Grillby gestured to a cabinet in the corner. While Papyrus went to check it out, he dipped his hand in the burner beside him to ignite it. 

The two of them cooked side by side in relative silence. Grillby tried to shrug off the awkward domestic feelings flurrying around in his chest, but the occasional soft brush of his elbow against Papyrus’s did nothing to help. They just started dating for goodness sake: it was much too early to think about how nice it felt to be around something else, to sleep near someone else, to cook in close proximity to someone else… 

…

Yeah, too early. 


	11. Day 11: Holding Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby visits Papyrus at work for a tour, so Papyrus leads him around...while holding his hand????
> 
> Scandalous!

Static feedback disrupted the otherwise calm atmosphere of the room Papyrus worked in today, and he looked up from his take-down activities to find the source.

“ _Papyrus?_ ”

Papyrus got up and brushed himself off, mentally noting where he had stopped before walking over to the wall. He ran his hand over the surface, tapping his finger every couple of inches and listening intently to the sound it produced. When a different sound finally came back, Papyrus rapped his knuckles against the wall, surging with pride when it slid back to reveal a small intercom.

“Hello, it is me, Papyrus! What can I do for you?”

“ _There's a, um--”_ Muttering came from the speaker system as the voice spoke with someone else-- “ _A Mr. Fire here to see you?”_

“Fire?” Papyrus scratched his skull. Who did he know named-- “Oh, is that Grillby?!”

“ _Yes, Grillby Fire.”_ The monster said, sounding slightly exasperated.

“I'm on my way!” Papyrus shouted. He ran to the door and tapped a few colored buttons on a panel, nearly dancing in place as he waited for the door to confirm the entry. He nearly barged through the door when it started to open, slipping sideways to get to the hallway. About halfway down, he recalled the spare visitor pass he acquired for today was still on the table in the room, so he doubled back to grab it.

Gosh, he was just so excited! Grillby was here, at his work, to visit him! What a joy it was to show his boyfriend a new side of himself!

Papyrus made it to the front desk in record time, chest heaving with exertion as he posed heroically. “I am Papyrus, here for Mr. Fire!”

The receptionist, a clumped mass of moss that vaguely assumed the shape of a bipedal monster, nodded, gesturing to the elemental. Papyrus turned to look at him, and he felt his SOUL soar at seeing him in the flesh, or whatever it was that Grillby had. It had been a while since they had a chance to meet together, a few weeks give or take, so it was nice to see him again. They exchanged a smile, and Papyrus could tell the feeling was mutual.

Straightening up to his full height, Papyrus closed the gap between them and handed Grillby the CORE pass. “I'm glad you could make it! Are you ready for the tour?”

Grillby nodded. “...Been looking forward to seeing where you work, and, you know, what keeps the lights on.”

“Indeed! Let us begin our tour! Thank you again for paging me, Moss.” Papyrus laced his hand into Grillby's, stopping himself from giggling at the color shift in Grillby’s flames as he pulled him through the doorway.

Papyrus directed Grillby down the hallway and started the tour, beginning with a small lesson on the CORE. It was a maze, simply put, a shifting building of swappable parts that workers shifted around at will for puzzle purposes. At the middle laid the heart of the CORE, a mechanical marvel that transformed the thermal energy of the lava native to the region into electrical energy for the underground.

“...And you mentioned before that your father invented it, right?” Grillby asked when they stopped to catch a breath. He glanced around at the cerulean tiled walls and walkways, eyes burning with curiosity and amazement. “...All of this?”

“Correct!”

Grillby gave a low whistle. “...Wow, he must be a genius.”

“He is, but underneath it all, he's just a bunch of bad dad jokes.” Papyrus made a face. “And very embarrassing. I need to make sure you two never meet.”

Grillby snorted at that, squeezing Papyrus's hand in reassurance. After glancing around the empty hallway for a brief moment, he stepped closer to Papyrus and planted a small kiss on his cheekbone. “...I think I should meet him one day, but I understand your discomfort. I feel the same about introducing you to my family.”

“You've thought about it?” Papyrus asked, surprised. Grillby didn't talk about his family often, and Papyrus knew that their relations had been strained since he left for Snowdin. To think that he wanted to introduce him…

Was he feeling serious about their relationship?

“... Yeah, but that's about it. I'm sure Fuku has already blabbed to the parents so I'll eventually receive a call from them.”

Papyrus made a sound of acknowledgment as he got lost in his own thoughts. To think that Grillby felt this strongly about Papyrus, it was…well, for lack of a better word, adorable. Of course, he knew that Grillby must've been comfortable with him since they were still dating after a month and a half, but meeting family members, that was just another world altogether. Maybe it was because Grillby was older?

Whatever conclusion Papyrus was working towards was interrupted when Grillby politely tapped him on the shoulder, pointing towards a doorway to their left. Papyrus followed his finger, paling slightly when he caught sight of a familiar short statured skeleton. “Sans?? I thought you were at the lab today.”

“‘dings sent me over here to check some valve readings,” Sans trailed off, his eye-lights fixed on something that Papyrus couldn't place. He followed his gaze down and went to pat at his body, only to realize that his hand was occupied.

With Grillby's.

“Oh, oh no,” Papyrus swore, forgoing all manner of proper introductions and politeness. He squeezed Grillby's hand twice and turned around the way they came, tugging him along with him. “Come on, pay no attention to that guy.”

“wow, not even gonna introduce your _hot_ boyfriend to your bro, that hurts,” Sans called, and Papyrus could just feel that permanent grin of his curl up higher behind his back.

“...Wait, Papyrus, is that your brother?” Grillby asked, looking over his shoulder.

“I--”

Sans appeared in front of them with his arms crossed in front of him. “come on, bro. my poor soul is _ablaze_ with sadness.”

“Sans, your puns are so insufferable!” Papyrus screeched, giving up on any attempts to escape. “You have zero finesse and only latch onto one thing to use! You could use any other type of wordplay, but I bet you're just going to use fire puns all day, aren't you?!”

“course not.” _Oh, thank God,_ Papyrus thought to himself. “i got light puns too.”

“Put a little more _backbone_ into your joke arsenal, Sans!”

Grillby, who had been watching the exchange silently, began to laugh. “...Sorry, you two are just too much.” He turned to Sans, offering his free hand. “...I'm Grillby, nice to meet you.”

After a quick meet and greet--in which Grillby fell victim to the infamous whoopee cushion gag--the three of them walked together to where Papyrus had been working prior to Grillby's arrival. Sans had excused himself, citing the work he needed to do, leaving Grillby and Papyrus to themselves. They sat on the floor against the wall, and Papyrus took the opportunity to lay his head in Grillby's lap. “That was so exhausting, sorry you had to deal with that.”

“...It was fun. Sans seems nice,” Grillby said.

“More like annoying,” Papyrus remarked. He nuzzled comfortably into Grillby's warmth, nearly purring when Grillby placed his hand on his skull.

“... So what are you going to do now?”

Papyrus glanced over at his unfinished work with a frown. It's been what, at least an hour or so since he was called away? Well past a regular break time. He really should get back to work, but…

“Can I hold your hand for a little bit longer?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The CORE is a bunch of puzzles dontcha know. For some reason I really wanted to emphasize that in this day lmao. 
> 
> More headcanon stuff AKA I love papyrus and want to talk about how cool he is:   
> I imagine that Gaster and Sans probably spend about 50/50 of their time between the Lab and the CORE, whereas for Papyrus it's more like 20/80 for Lab VS CORE. While he's not as research minded as Sans, he is very logical, and I bet that sometimes he gets called in for his opinions on things.


	12. Day 12: Looking for Each Other in a Crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby comes to visit Papyrus during a celebration in Hotland and has a little bit of trouble finding him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: Anxiety in crowds, small panic

Hotland was just the same as it ever was: hot. Hot and humid and very...rocky. Grillby really didn’t miss Hotland, much preferring the simplicity and freedom of Snowdin, provided he had a heater handy. 

Somehow though, he still ended up either going to or through Hotland much more often than usual. Sometimes it was to buy elemental specific things like snacks and clothing, the usual stuff that he couldn’t find in the small, snowy town. Lately, he’s been finding himself in Hotland to visit his cute and adorable boyfriend, Papyrus, and today was no different.

It was the time of year where the CORE was shut down to undergo its annual inspection and cleaning. The ‘Darkening’, as the locals called it in Snowdin, ended up being a weeklong event where the power was shut off, forcing everyone to work in other ways, usually by firelight. At the end of the blackout, a celebration was held to watch the large machine burst back into working order. Monsters from all over the Underground would trek down to the CORE, Hotland, and balconies in New Home to find a good spot to see the show. Grillby never really felt strongly one way or another about the whole thing and usually stayed home to avoid the crowds, but that was before he ended up dating someone who actually worked at the CORE. 

Papyrus had messaged Grillby before the CORE shut down to see what Grillby was planning to do. Since Papyrus was part of the staff, he had to help perform all the maintenance checks during the week with his brother and father, but the day of the celebration he was free to roam around. He wanted to hang out, and Grillby couldn’t resist taking any opportunity to hang out with his skeleton lover. So, he made the trek down to Hotland and, upon arriving at the docks realized something very important:

_ The two of them didn’t actually figure out where they were going to meet. _

Grillby groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. How could he make such a blunder? He reached his hand into his pocket, intending to pull out his phone and text Papyrus, but paused when he remembered the CORE was still out. That meant no power, and no power meant no phone. Shit. 

Okay, he just had to narrow down where Papyrus could be, and then find him. He made his way to the elevators, surprisingly still running despite the outage (Grillby chalked it up to all the lava around; they must be able to harness that somehow), and headed up to the third floor. It was possible that Papyrus could be near the CORE entrance, or possibly hanging out in the MTT resort; he did have an infatuation with the robot, after all.

When the elevator opened at his stop, Grillby stepped out and immediately stopped. This place was...well, no other way to say it than packed. Monsters milled about in the area, standing in large groups to converse, getting food, and generally just enjoying the day. There were far more monsters than Grillby was usually used to, and he could feel his flames flicker uneasily in the crowd. 

Grillby wasn’t a fan of crowds, never was, and before he knew it he was moving, feet directing him in a direction he wasn’t sure of except  _ away.  _ His vision blurred and he felt his oxygen catch in his body, but he couldn’t stop. He headed past the path to the MTT resort and kept walking, hoping to get to a place with fewer monsters where he could breathe easily. He was passing by a few food stands when a familiar voice called out to him.

“hey, bud, where ya going in such a hurry?”

Turning around, Grillby found himself looking at a food stand, or what he guessed was a food stand. It was made out of some sort of cardboard (yet somehow was still standing), and behind the makeshift counter was Sans, Papyrus’s (Younger? Older?) brother. Grillby glanced around, breathing easier when he realized the crowd had thinned out considerably in this area. He walked over to Sans’s stand and greeted him. “...Hey. Uh, what are you doing?”

“entrepreneurship.” Sans reached behind him and grabbed a set of tongs. “how about you?”

“...Looking for your brother actually. We were supposed to meet but, well we never decided  _ where  _ to meet.”

“oof, that sucks.” Sans picked up something from his stand with the tongs and held it out to Grillby. “can i offer ya a nice h‘dog in these trying times?”

“...A what.” Grillby leaned in close to examine the strange object. Oh, a water sausage. He shook his head, putting a hand up to decline. “...No thanks.”

Sans shrugged. “suit yourself.” He placed the water sausage back behind the counter. “so listen, mind doing me a favor? i gotta run and get more ‘dogs and cats, can you watch the stand?”

Grillby opened his mouth to decline but Sans was fast, and by the time Grillby realized what was happening Sans was already halfway down the path. “...Hey, wait!” He tried to yell, accompanying it with a series of arm waving gestures. 

“appreciate it pal, brb,” Sans yelled over his back and turned the corner, leaving Grillby and his stand. 

Coming to terms with the futility of the situation, Grillby took his place at the stand. He bent down to look underneath the counter, curious to see what types of things a probably illegal hot dog stand had. There were many bottles of condiments, ranging from simple ketchup to pomeraisins, buns, and--

Wait. There were water sausages here; tons of them, in fact. Didn’t Sans say he needed to get more? That little--

“SANS?!” Wasn’t that Papyrus’s voice? Grillby peeked up from the stand and sure enough, there was Papyrus. One hand was on his hip and the other was over his eyes to block out the sun. “Sans, where are you?!”

Grillby got to his feet and waved his hand for Papyrus to see. He chuckled as Papyrus did a rare triple take before running over. “...Hey there.”

“Hey yourself!” Papyrus smiled. “I’ve been looking all over for you and--” He glanced down at the cardboard. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“...I ran into Sans. He told me to wait here while he went to get more food but his stand is packed.”

Papyrus brought a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I ran into him too, just a few minutes ago. He asked me to come here but he didn’t tell me why!”

“...Hmm.” Grillby probably had an idea as to why, but he didn’t want to rat out Sans just yet. A good brother, indeed. “...Well, since you’re here, and I’m here, let’s go hang out?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans is a decent bro probably, underneath all the puns, memes, and misdirection. Also shoutout to pomeraisins, a great referenced item that I completely forgot about until I replayed through the Switch version of Undertale.


	13. Day 13: Texting Words of Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus (hypothetically) gets stuck somewhere and texts Grillby for advice.

**To:** Grillby 12:13pm  
_HELLO GRILLBY, ARE YOU AVAILABLE TO TEXT?_

Papyrus gripped his phone like a lifeline, determined to focus on it instead of his surroundings. It would be fine, he would be fine, but until then he needed a little bit of a distraction. Luckily, Grillby was always rather good at prompt responses.

 **From:** Grillby 12:15pm  
_I am, what’s up? How are you today?_

 **To:** Grillby 12:15pm  
I AM...OKAY. PERFECT, ACTUALLY. NOTHING WRONG OVER HERE NYEH HEH HEH HEH.  
BUT JUST IN CASE SOMETHING WAS WRONG  
SAY, I WAS IN LESS THAN STELLAR MOODS TODAY  
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

 **From:** Grillby 12:16pm  
_Well, hypothetically, if you were in such a state, I would ask how I could help assist you.  
Hypothetically, of course._

 **To:** Grillby 12:16pm  
_OF COURSE, NOTHING LESS COULD BE EXPECTED OF MY WONDERFUL BOYFRIEND.  
IF I WERE IN THIS SITUATION  
WHICH I AM NOT, I JUST NEED TO CLARIFY THAT  
BUT IF I WERE  
I WOULD PROBABLY BE TEXTING YOU BECAUSE I WAS UH…  
__STUCK SOMEWHERE_.

 **From:** Grillby 12:18pm  
_Stuck somewhere? What do you mean?_

 **To:** Grillby 12:19pm  
_LET’S SAY I WAS STUCK SOMEWHERE DARK_  
 _LIKE AN ELEVATOR OR A SPACE BEHIND A WALL_  
 _LET’S ALSO SAY THAT MAYBE I AM AFRAID OF SMALL, DARK SPACES_

Papyrus glared at his shaking hands, willing them to calm down. This was ridiculous, he was the Great Papyrus, the best engineer who was afraid of nothing. He wasn’t supposed to be scared of a little darkness! He brought his knees up to his chest and closed his eyes. He thought back to earlier that day when Sans warned him to be careful with the equipment today. Why didn’t he listen?

When he found himself a little calmer, Papyrus opened his phone again. He didn’t think he zoned out for too long, but apparently, ten minutes had passed and Grillby had sent him multiple messages.

 **From:** Grillby 12:20pm  
 _Oh, that wouldn’t be good._  
 _Wait, is this really hypothetical or are you seriously stuck somewhere?_  
 _Papyrus?_  
 _Papyrus, are you okay?_  
 _Papyrus, I’m a little worried. Please message_ me back.

He quickly responded.

 **To:** Grillby 12:31pm  
_SORRY, I HAD LOOKED AWAY FROM MY PHONE._  
 _IT’S DEFINITELY STILL HYPOTHETICAL._  
 _THERE’S NO WAY THAT SOMEONE AS AWESOME AS_ ME _COULD BE AFRAID OF A DARK, CRAMPED SPACE._

 **From:** Grillby 12:32pm  
_...Okay then. Well, does anyone else know that you’re stuck?_

 **To** :Grillby 12:32pm  
_YES, I GAVE MY RELATIVE LOCATION AND STATUS BY TEXT TO THE PROPER MONSTERS ABOUT HALF AN HOUR AGO._  
 _I ASSUME THAT THEY MIGHT BE SEARCHING FOR THE AREA RIGHT NOW._  
 _I’VE BEEN REARRANGING MY AREA ALL DAY AND I MUST SAY IT MIGHT BE MY MOST ENGAGING PUZZLE YET!_  
 _...Unfortunately, THAT MEANS THEY MIGHT HAVE TROUBLE FINDING IT._  
 _HYPOTHETICALLY._

 **From:** Grillby 12:33pm  
_Right, that’s unfortunate. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid, you know? I’m not good with crowds, myself. You’ve been very brave, and you just need to hold out a little longer. I’ll keep you company through text until they find you, okay?_

Papyrus brushed his sleeves against his sockets, feeling the stress of the situation start to ebb away. He took a deep breath before replying.

 **To:** Grillby 12:34pm  
_I WOULD LIKE THAT. THANK YOU, GRILLBY._


	14. Day 14: Thinking about each other while apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby's restaurant was lively for a Friday night, but why was Grillby feeling so down?

Grillby's restaurant was lively for a Friday night. Soft jazz (courtesy of Punk Hamster) flowed from the jukebox in the corner as customers conversed with each other in their seats. Drunk Bun was in the corner, draped over the table as she said something too quiet for Grillby to pick up, but it must have been humorous since Big Mouth laughed heartily. The Royal Guard table was as rambunctious as usual, with excited yips and cheers coming from the dogs while they played poker. If Grillby had to guess, Greater Dog was probably winning again. 

Everything was shaping up to be a good night, but for some reason, Grillby was feeling down. He sighed for what must have been the fifth time that night. 

“Hey, Grillbz. You look…kind of down today. Well, not just today. Past couple of days. You feeling alright?”

Grillby looked up from the counter at Red Bird, one of his more favored patrons. They came in every night without fail and sat at the bar to relax. Since Grillby couldn't raise his voice above a whisper, Red Bird often translated what he said to others, and Grillby was utterly thankful for that. The monster in question looked at him with eyes full of…was that pity? Maybe more curiosity. Did Grillby really look that off today? 

“... It's nothing, I'm just…” Well, now that he thought about it, why was he all out of sorts today? Nothing had been out of the ordinary lately. The restaurant was clean and tidy, and his patrons were mostly behaved (though Doggo kept trying to sneak in dog treats). Even his apartment was looking better than ever since he had the time to clean it, although, he was mostly doing that as a distraction from--

Oh. That's why. 

“...It's probably because I haven't seen Papyrus in a while,” Grillby concluded. Usually, the two of them were about to set aside some time over the weekend to see each other (either a day trip for Grillby to see Papyrus or an overnight trip for Papyrus to sleep over at Grillby's place), but the past couple of weeks they haven't been able to sync up. Grillby didn't even realize how much it had affected him until now. He longed for cool touch of bones against his flames and wished that he could see Papyrus’s smile right now.

Red Bird took a swig of their drink. “Papyrus, huh? The name doesn't ring a bell. Who are they?”

“... Oh, I haven't mentioned him?” Grillby could've sworn he had talked about Papyrus before, but now that he thought about it, he usually was listening to everyone else's stories. The news probably just got lost somewhere along the way. “...He's my boyfriend.”

“Ah. That would explain--” Red Bird froze midway between raising the glass to their beak. “Wait, what? Really?”

Grillby rubbed the side of his flames in confusion. “... Uh, yes?”

“Be right back.” Red Bird slid off their stool and walked away, leaving Grillby concerned. Was it bad that he was dating? He watched as Red Bird fluttered over to Big Mouth and began to talk to him, using their wing to point in the direction of the counter. Their eyes met as Big Mouth looked over in his direction, expression changing from one of surprise to one of… Was that resignation? The hell? 

Grillby observed Big Mouth pass a small bag over, and then Red Bird walked back over to the stool with a skip in their step. “Had a bet with Big Mouth. I won.” They said smugly, opening the bag so Grillby could see the gold inside. 

“...I see.” He wasn't quite sure what to make of that. What does one do when their customers bet on their personal life? 

“Oh, it was nothing bad. Two of us noticed you were…different lately. More expressive. Wondered why, so we made a bet. I figured you found someone special.” Red Bird smiled. “Haven't been able to meet though?” 

“...Conflicting schedules.”

“Why not take a day off? We wouldn't mind here.” Red Bird went to take a drink, grimacing when he realized his glass from empty. 

Grillby turned around to his wall to locate what the monster had been drinking and took it down. “... I couldn't do that to you guys,” He said, tipping the bottle over to fill the glass. “... Besides, it's not like everyone knows about him yet.”

A sudden shriek had the two of them turn quickly to Big Mouth's table. Drunk Bun was on her feet, using the table to balance as she stared down Big Mouth. “GRILLBZ HAS A WHAT?!” She stumbled over to the bar, hiccuping slightly as he looked up at Grillby. “You have a boyfriend, and I'm just  _ now _ hearing about it?! What gives?!”

Grillby took a step back in unease. “... I…uh. ”

The conversations around abruptly stopped as everyone turned their attention to Grillby. 

_ “Wait, Grillby” “(Has a partner?)”  _

_ “Yip??”  _

_ “Say what?? _ ” 

\------

Grillby wearily climbed the stairs to his apartment after closing up for the night. He pulled his keys out and left himself in, making it as far as his couch before collapsing. His customers were ruthless; after they demanded to know how he met Papyrus, they pressured him to take the next weekend off so he would have time to visit. They were all such busybodies, but Grillby couldn't deny how pleasant it was to be fussed over so genuinely. 

Pulling out his phone, Grillby sent out a text. 

**To** : Papyrus 2:18 am  
_ Hey, lovebug, how are you?  _

**From:** Papyrus 2:18 am  
_ I AM FINE, JUST MISSING YOU.   
ALSO, I APPLAUD YOUR USE OF A PET NAME, BUT MIGHT I SUGGEST SOMETHING WITH ‘SKELETON’ IN IT?  _

**To:** Papyrus 2:19 am  
_ So like, love-Skele?  _

**From:** Papyrus 2:19 am  
_ THAT'S A GOOD START, HOTTIE. NYEH HEH HEH.   
SO HOW WAS WORK TODAY?  _

**To** : Papyrus 2:20 am  
_ It was fine. Actually, funny story: my patrons discovered that we're dating. I thought the news would've made its rounds before, but I guess not.   
They forced me to take some time off next weekend so I could see you. _

**From** : Papyrus 2:21 am  
_ WOWIE! WHAT GOOD FORTUNE!  _

**To** : Papyrus 2:21 am  
 _I know, I'm pretty excited too. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Shall we hang out at my place, or…?_

**From** : Papyrus 2:22 am  
_ WHY DON'T YOU COME UP HERE? WE COULD DO DRINKING AND DANCE IT UP SOMEWHERE. _

**To** : Papyrus 2:23 am  
_ I'm not sure about the dancing, but I'm always down for drinking. Let's hash out the details in the morning?  _

**From** : Papyrus 2:24 am  
_ OKAY, SOUNDS GOOD. GOOD NIGHT, CUTE BOYFRIEND.  _

**To** : Papyrus 2:24 am  
_ Haha, goodnight, cuter boyfriend.  _

Grillby closed his phone and gently tossed it onto the coffee table. He balanced the pros and cons of getting up and going to his bed but dismissed them in favor of the couch. He dragged the blanket from his chair and tossed it over his head and arms, settling down for a much-needed sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so these guys have been going out for around maybe four months at this point. On one hand, it seems odd to me that literally, no one in Snowdin has noticed Papyrus around, but when I think longer on it I'm like, 'well okay Papyrus probably comes around at nighttime, and if Grillby's shop isn't open then peeps are probably settling down for the night'.
> 
> Also, I don't know, it just feels hilarious to me for Grillby's entire restaurant to go 'TAKE A NIGHT OFF AND SMOOCH YOUR BOYFRIEND'.


	15. Day 15: Sneaky Kisses

Papyrus put a finger to his teeth as he pressed his back against the wall, quickly peeking around the corner to survey the hallway. It was empty, as he expected from the lunchtime hour. His destination lay about halfway down the hall, an otherwise nondescript door with a small label on the frame. Unlike the other rooms in the CORE, this one didn't have a keypad, meaning it was easy to access and nearly impossible to detect entry, aside from being caught on camera. He glanced at the camera up in the corner and thought back to his notes where he sketched out the area it covered. If he recalled correctly, there was a blind spot right along the wall, and if he did it correctly they wouldn't be noticed.

(Well, the chances of them being noticed anyway were quite low. Literally everyone was at lunch and no one would _really_ care if Papyrus was loitering around with his boyfriend on his lunch break, but it was the principle of the matter! If he was going to be sneaky, he had to sneak!)

Somehow, Grillby read his thoughts and leaned in close to whisper against his skull. “...Is all this sneaking around really necessary?”

Not wanting to compromise their plan, Papyrus simply nodded and directed Grillby into the hallway. They crept along the side of the wall as he planned, and after clearing the camera's view, they shuffled to the door and entered.

The room Papyrus had chosen today was a small closet. On a good day it was just a broom closet with sparse cleaning materials, and on puzzle shuffling days it ended up being a makeshift storage closet for odd miscellaneous pieces (of which there was always _at least_ one leftover after everything was done).

Today, the space fell somewhere in-between, with tall blue floor mats resting against the steel shelving occupied by sponges and a singular empty bucket on the bottom. Somewhere along the way, the light bulb in the room had been taken out, leaving the space dark.

Well, mostly dark, thanks to Grillby's flames.

Papyrus used those flames to guide his way to Grillby, who was casually resting against the door with an amused expression. He thrust his hand out, lightly slapping it to the door as he pressed his body against Grillby's. “So, what do you think?” He purred.

Grillby chuckled quietly, placing his hands at the base of Papyrus's clothed spine. “... I can't believe you called me all the way here to make out in a broom closet. You know we're literally going to see each other this weekend, right? We can do this anywhere.”

Papyrus frowned slightly. If only he had cheeks to puff out! “I mean, yes, but where's your sense of adventure? Isn't it kind of exciting?”

“... It is,” Grillby agreed. He leaned forward to brush his mouth to the side of Papyrus's skull, and Papyrus felt himself shiver from the sensation of liquid warmth against his bones. “... So, what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to kiss me?”

Never one to disappoint, Papyrus did as directed and pressed his teeth to Grillby’s mouth.

It was interesting, the business of kissing. Papyrus would say he had adequate experience in the art. Some of it came from past partners that lasted anywhere from a few days to a few months, and other parts came from drunken dares where he was much too interested to decline. He had experience with kissing furrier monsters, where their lips were soft and fur too irresistible to not run his fingers through, and with scalier monsters, whose scales provided an interesting texture to his teeth. Kissing elementals, however, that was something else entirely.

Grillby’s kisses were hungry, and his flames always searched for deeper and deeper cavities to worm themselves into. His tongue (Papyrus had been delighted to find that he had one) was almost like lava, slowly moving against Papyrus’s own and coaxing delicious moans with each collision.

He usually tasted like a roasted version of whatever he had eaten last, which he had been switching up to appease Papyrus’s curiosity. Today was roasted pecans, and Papyrus mentally noted that this was a good taste. It combined well with Grillby’s smoky aftertaste, something that never quite went away but was wholly unique to him.

After a particularly devilish spark of flames to his teeth, Papyrus quickly found their positions switched as Grillby took the reins. Grillby’s hands fisted into the back of Papyrus’s lab coat and his mouth slowly journeyed down to Papyrus’s cervical vertebrae. He pressed the tips of his fangs to the sensitive bones, agitating the bones there in a way he knew Papyrus liked.

“A-ah, I thought I was supposed to be kissing you,” Papyrus panted, grabbing onto the lapels of Grillby’s coat. His body arched as Grillby licked at the magic holding his bones together, and he had to clap a hand to his teeth to stop a heavy groan from escaping.

“...I don’t think you really mind,” Grillby said with a ragged voice. His hands slipped underneath Papyrus’s outer attire and raked over the surface of his shirt, teasingly fingering over the bottom seams. “...So, how far can we go here?”

 _As far as you want_ was the consensus from Papyrus’s body, but it just wouldn’t do to get too obscene at work. Plus, lunchtime would be ending soon, and Papyrus wasn’t really trying to get caught in a closet. Before Papyrus could articulate his thoughts, his phone buzzed in his pocket. “H-hold on, I have to…” Papyrus gently kissed Grillby to get his attention, calmly batting away roving hands with one arm while reaching into his pocket with the other. He opened his phone and let out a surprised sound when he saw that his dad had texted him. What could he want right now?

Grillby pressed his forehead to Papyrus’s, flames roaring as he peered down at the phone. “...What is it?”

“My dad,” Papyrus said. He opened the message and read.

 **From:** Father 12:53 pm  
_ You know, if you’re going to sneak your boyfriend into work during lunch, the least you could do is introduce us... Also, I need you to look over something so meet me in my office by 1.  
W.D. Gaster _

Papyrus groaned and slapped a hand to his skull. “Ughh, how did he figure us out?! Alright, I need to leave and do work, I’m sorry.” Papyrus turned to leave, but Grillby stopped him before he could open the door.

“...Hold on, let’s get you a little more decent.” Grillby patted Papyrus down, using his flames to smooth out the wrinkles in Papyrus attire. He brushed a hand over Papyrus’s neck, grimacing when Papyrus let out a pained gasp. “...Yeah, I might’ve gotten a little carried away there. The mark is small so it shouldn’t be too noticeable.”

“You elementals and your marking,” Papyrus smirked, straightening out Grillby’s clothing as well. “All of my money is going towards burn ointment, you know?”

Grillby laughed. “...I know it’s easy enough to heal. You just like walking around with my burns, don’t you?”

“I’ll never tell,” Papyrus giggled. He made Grillby take a step back so he could give him the once-over, flashing him a thumbs up when he deemed him decent. “Okay, I have to go now, but we’re still on for this weekend?”

“...Yep, can’t wait. See you, skelelover.”

“Oh, I like that one! I’ll see you later, Grillhun!”

“...Please, try harder.”

Papyrus laughed, giving Grillby one more kiss before leaving the closet.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first, I wanted Gaster to interrupt the two of them via a room intercom, but then I realized it contradicted a different HC I had about Gaster's WingDings speech so I had to scrap it for a text hahaha.
> 
> Wingdings Translation for this chapter:
> 
> From: Father 12:53 pm  
> You know, if you’re going to sneak your boyfriend into work during lunch, the least you could do is introduce us... Also, I need you to look over something so meet me in my office by 1.  
> W.D. Gaster


	16. Day 16: Breakfast in Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hangovers, missing shirts, and strange monsters, oh my!
> 
> AKA, the day Grillby finally met Papyrus's father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Hangovers, Drinking mention, mentions of getting drunk enough to not remember the rest of the night, meeting the parent

Two things were instantly apparent to Grillby upon waking that morning. The first was that  he had a headache. It wasn’t like one of those random ‘aches and pains’ headaches, but rather a ‘you fucked up and did something you shouldn’t have’ headache. A ‘you’re getting too old for this and you need to stop’ type of headache.

In other words, he was hungover, probably.

He remembered going to a bar with Papyrus...which turned to two or three? He must’ve lost count around the way. He also remembered how great bars were in New Home. They tended to have the good stuff, the stuff that _actually_ got him drunk as opposed to what he usually carried in Snowdin. If he had to guess (which was the only thing he could do since every time he tried to think about it his head throbbed violently in response), he forgot his limits and got too drunk to remember the rest of the night. Or, he remembered his limits from when he was young and full of life, instead of twenty-nine and out of practice. It was a gamble at this point.

In any case, that brought him to the second thing that he noticed when he woke up: this was not his room. Or his bed. And why was it so...chilly?

Grillby slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he tried to focus on his surroundings. The ceiling was the wrong color, he knew that to be a fact, but it was hard to see the rest. It would be easier if he had his glasses. He brought a hand to his face, hoping that somewhere along the way he would jostle his glasses off of his person, but to his dismay, nothing fell, and his face was smooth. He turned his head and fought back the wave of vertigo that brought on to see if maybe whoever’s room he was in had a nightstand or a side table. It was a pretty common thing so it wasn’t asking for _too_ much, he figured.

To his relief, there was a nightstand, and as he combed over the surface of it, he felt the familiar sensation of cool steel underneath his flames. He dragged the item off the table and, after confirming that it was, in fact, his glasses, put it on his face. Now, he could see that this was _definitely_ not his apartment.

Grillby steeled himself and counted to three before pushing himself into a sitting position to get a better surveying point. He closed his eyes to relax and took the moment to feel out the rest of him. His shirt was missing, which would explain the chill, but luckily his pants were intact. His socks were not on, a relief really since it meant he didn’t get up to anything too vulgar in his compromised state. Thank goodness.

“Grillby?”

Grillby opened his eyes at the sound of his name, searching until he found a skeleton--no, not just any skeleton, that was Papyrus--in the doorway. He looked almost worse for the wear than Grillby was, with dark rims around his sockets (eyeshadow, Grillby was sure) and an icepack strapped to his neck bones. He was wearing a large, pink robe and bunny slippers, and in his hands were--

“...That’s not Sea Tea, is it?” Grillby asked, gesturing to the mug in Papyrus’s hands. He knew it was a popular hangover drink for Monsters, but it didn’t work for the more fiery ones like himself.

Papyrus looked down at his hands as if he had forgotten there was anything there at all. “Oh, yes, but I figured you wouldn’t be able to drink it.”

Ah. Grillby forgot his boyfriend was smart; gosh he was lucky. He nodded to Papyrus. “...This your room, then?”

Papyrus perked up, nearly vibrating in place. “It is, what do you think?”

Now that Grillby’s head wasn’t pounding as much, he took the chance to look around. Papyrus had a lot of bone-themed memorabilia adorning his walls, flags and such, and between them lay scattered blueprints to different contraptions and puzzle-like structures. On his desk lay a chess set, an opened scroll that looked vaguely similar to a map of New Home, and several action figures, including one of Mettaton. It must’ve been an authentic one with how sharp those edges looked.

“...It’s very neat.”

“Thank you!” Papyrus took a drink from his mug. “So, what do fire elementals do for hangovers, anyway?”

“...Overload on carbs, usually.”

“Oh, so breakfast? That’s easy enough; I already started on it anyway, I hope you like eggs!” Papyrus laughed at Grillby’s bewildered expression. “I know you like them, we’ve already had breakfast together, right? I’ll be back up with it in a bit.”

Grillby waved to Papyrus’s retreating figure, peering out into the hall for a moment before looking back down at himself. Maybe...he should find his shirt. He patted the sheets around him for lumps where his discarded clothing could be, and when that brought nothing he looked over the edge of the bed. Hmm, nothing there either. He stared at the ground, searching his memories for some clue as to where his shirt might’ve gone. With how intently he was focusing, it was easy to miss the approaching sound of static.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting Papyrus to have brought home a visitor!” 

Grabbing his head, Grillby tried to shake off the static, but it proved to only exacerbate the problem, giving him a headache in addition to his hangover _and_ the static. It sounded like turning on the television without having cable, but as far as Grillby had seen from looking around, Papyrus didn’t have a tv in his room. He looked up from the floor, nearly shrieking in shock when he came face-to-face(???) with another monster at the foot of the bed.

They had a certain likeness to a skeleton, Grillby figured. The skull was similar to Papyrus’s, save for the large gashes underneath mismatched eye sockets. They seemed to have a permanent grin like Sans’s, but instead of teeth, their mouth was a pit of darkness. They wore a slim, black robe that engulfed the bulk of their body, and floating in the air in front of them was a pair of white, disembodied hands.

Could this be...the father he heard so much about?

“...H-Hello?” Grillby said, hesitantly adding in a wave for good measure. The monster bent forward and Grillby could see the small white lights in their sockets train on him. One of the hands zoomed through the air to Grillby’s face, pausing for a moment before waving back. Another fresh wave of static invaded Grillby’s head, making him hiss.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for quite a while now, my boy!”

“...Sorry, there’s just this...static?” Grillby tried to explain. The monster tilted their head down in what seemed to be a thinking fashion, and the hand still at their side floated to their chin.

“Right, it’s easy to forget that not everyone speaks WingDings. If I recall correctly, Papyrus mentioned you know sign language...”

The hand in front of Grillby spurred into action, moving back so that it was at the monster’s right side. They extended their fingers, quickly tapping the hand to their skull and out. Grillby tilted his head in confusion, staring for a moment until it hit him: that was the sign language for ‘hello’! Smiling, he mirrored the action back. “...Ah, you speak sign language!”

The monster nodded, the grin on their face spreading widely. They repeated the action, and then signed something that had Grillby perplexed. The ‘hello’ made sense, but afterward the monster signed the words for ‘future’ and ‘son’.

“...Hello future son?” Grillby parroted back in confusion. Why would this monster call him a future son, was that a weird nickname or--

Grillby’s flames plumed from his head in thick bursts as it dawned on him that this monster, _Papyrus’s father_ , was calling him son-in-law, and all he could do was let out weak snaps and crackles in response. The flames must’ve gone a bit too high, for a loud alarm suddenly went off in the apartment and the sprinkler system spurred to life, pelting Grillby and the rest of the room with cold water.

An angry shriek was heard downstairs. “WHAT IS GOING ON UP THERE?!?!”

\--------------------------------

It took about fifteen to turn off and disable the fire alarm, ten for Grillby to reassure Papyrus that getting hit with a little water wasn’t the end of the world (even though the large blemishes on Grillby’s flames said otherwise), and then another five for Papyrus to lecture his father on bothering his boyfriend, until finally the two of them had the room to themselves. Thanks to the alarm ruining his meal Papyrus had to pull together a quick breakfast of toast and leftover quiche, which the two of them now ate side-by-side in bed.

“How are you feeling?” Papyrus asked, holding the empty plate in his hands.

Grillby moved his head from side to side, noting a distinct lack of double vision. “...Better, thank you.”

“You’re welcome! Sorry that dad bothered you, I told him ahead of time to stay away from my room, but he’s rather stubborn.”

“...It’s okay, he was--” Gaster’s (Papyrus’s dad insisted that Grillby to call him ‘dad’, but Papyrus argued back until they all settled on his given name as a compromise) signed greeting came back to Grillby suddenly, making him blush-- “Nice, I think.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay ngl, I've been looking forward to doing this day for so long my gosh. It ended up longer than usual, but I'll just count it as a present to myself haahha
> 
> Wingdings translation: 
> 
> “Oh, I wasn’t expecting Papyrus to have brought home a visitor!”
> 
> “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for quite a while now, my boy!”
> 
> “Right, it’s easy to forget that not everyone speaks WingDings. If I recall correctly, Papyrus mentioned you know sign language...”


	17. Day 17: Buying a gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby and Papyrus go gift shopping.

The smell of musk and old books filled the air as Grillby and Papyrus browsed around the bookshop together. Tattered books sat on rows upon rows of shelving, and Papyrus was surprised that the contents of the books managed to last this long with so much water damage. He eyed the selection nonchalantly. He wasn’t really a leisurely book person after all, but one look at Grillby’s face and he could tell the other was captivated. 

The two were there on a mission, with a goal of finding an appropriate gift for Grillby’s mother’s birthday that was coming up in a few days. Even though the two of them never talked and Grillby hasn’t visited his home much since he left, Grillby had always sent her a nice gift for her special day. This year he wanted to get her a new book, so he came all the way to New Home to look, and since Papyrus had gotten off of work earlier than usual he decided to tag along.

Before, he knew the trip would be worth it because spending any time with Grillby was worth a trip, but now it was even more special since he was finding out new things about him!

Papyrus trailed Grillby to the next row of books, watching as Grillby crouched down to survey the ones at the bottom. “So…”

“...Hm?” Grillby looked up from a book in his hand. “...What’s wrong?”

“Wrong? Nothing! I’m just wondering, do you like to read books?” Papyrus asked. 

“...Yeah, I think so.” Grillby moved his gaze back to the selection but kept talking. “...My parents used to read to me a lot, and then when I was old enough I read to Fuku. So, I guess it was kind of like a habit that turned into an interest.”

“What do you like to read?”

Grillby picked up another book, flipping to the back to skim the summary. Papyrus watched his expression gradually fall until he placed the book back on the shelf with a huff. “...Not that kind of book. I swear the only books that have been falling lately are dystopian ones.”

Papyrus crouched down beside Grillby and plucked the book from the shelf. The cover was hanging on by a near miracle but the back was fully intact, and Papyrus quickly read over the summary. It seemed to focus on the end of the world as the plot, painting a bleak look into the universe with corrupt governments and failing power sources. Very dystopian, indeed. “If not dystopian, then what? Romance?”

“...Nah, that’s my mom favorite. Speaking of which...” Grillby tucked a book underneath his arm and got to his feet. “I think I found one. Let’s go check out?”

The two of them headed to the front, where a Froggit rung them up and completed the transaction. They tucked the book into a small bag and handed it to Grillby, and the two were out the door. 

They were halfway down the street before Grillby spoke again. “...It might be a little silly, but I’m a fan of sci-fi.”

“Really?”

“...Yeah, there’s something almost...freeing about it. Almost feels like I could do just about anything.” Grillby had said it in a casual way, but Papyrus could hear the longing underneath. It was a feeling he shared, that most of the Underground shared probably. “...In any case, they’re really hard to find, so it’s not worth thinking about.”

Hard to find? Papyrus was always up for a new challenge.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today was an exhausting day, and boy does it show bahahaha. In any case, I did it


	18. Day 18: Having a misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus comes to visit Grillby at work!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah not gonna lie I had a coast-to-coast flight today so this entry is really uhhhhh, you know. Please enjoy!
> 
> Tw: Getting kinda angsty in here, Papyrus Canon text, Papyrus is blunt at fuck but somehow still in character

Grillby examined himself in the mirror, making sure that his uniform was free of blemishes and wrinkles. He tended to have a high pride in his restaurant, which of course translated into how he looked, but today was different. 

Today, Papyrus was visiting. 

Well, Papyrus visited his apartment often, but it was either on days he closed the restaurant or was outside of his regular business hours. This would be the first time that Papyrus would get to see him actually working and operating. It wasn't as if he was trying to keep the working side of his life from Papyrus, but there was a small part of him that was worried about what Papyrus would think. He seemed to be very supportive of Grillby's business in general, but what if he didn't like something? 

Well, he could worry about it all night, but that wouldn't stop Papyrus or his regular customers from coming. Keeping that in mind, Grillby took a deep breath and smoothed a hand over his flames to calm down. 

_He can do this._

When Grillby deemed himself ready, he grabbed his gloves off the dresser and left his room. He did a quick lap around the apartment as he tugged on the gloves, making sure that nothing would go awry while he was gone. The last he needed was for his apartment to somehow catch on fire while he was downstairs. After grabbing his keys, Grillby left the apartment and headed down to the restaurant. 

\---

Prior to Papyrus's arrival, Grillby told his patrons what was happening, and asked them to be on their best behavior. Aside from a few good- natured jabs and teasing, they were all too happy to play along. When else would they get a chance to see Grillby all lovey-dovey? 

The bar was practically silent when Papyrus finally appeared, duffel bag in hand. They watched with bated breath as Papyrus examined the inside of the building with a critical eye, and Grillby felt his flames shift apprehensively. Was that…a good look, or a bad one? Wanting to lighten up the mood a little, Grillby opened his mouth in a small, jagged smile that he saved exclusively for Papyrus and waved him over. “... Papyrus, I'm glad to see that you've made it. What do you think?” 

Papyrus took a seat at the bar beside Red Bird and Ugly Fish and drummed his gloved phalanges on the table. He looked down as if trying to figure out what to say, and Grillby held his metaphorical breath in anticipation. “Well…” Papyrus said quietly. “It's a little dark, and I can practically smell the grease from here.”

Grillby tilted his head, ignoring Red Bird's soft gasp. “...Is that a problem?” 

“If you want to be a good establishment, then yes?” Grillby distinctly heard Big Mouth choke on his burger, but Papyrus kept going. “It's like a purgatory of fries in here, how can you expect someone to come in and eat? I mean, clearly it's working for you here but I couldn't do it myself.”

“...Oh...I see.” Grillby reached around to undo his apron, settling for burning the strings when his fingers couldn't find the loops. He placed the cloth on the counter, resisting the urge to make a scene in front of his customers. “... Apologies, but I'll be back momentarily.”

He just needed to…sit down for a minute, gather his thoughts, and try not to cry. Easy enough, right? 


	19. Reconciling after a misunderstanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus realizes what he did and goes to make amends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very very late entry, went to a bachelor party and wedding today so I wrote this in the car home. It's still the 19th back in my home time zone bahaha

Papyrus watched Grillby exit through a door in the back, brows furrowed in confusion. Did he say something wrong? Sure, it might have been a little bit harsh, but didn't he want Papyrus's complete honest opinion? 

The monster to his left, some sort of bird monster, set his drink down and stared down Papyrus. “Hey. Did you have to, you know, be that mean?”

“I thought he wanted my opinion, so I gave it. Sure, it might've been a bit harsh--” 

“A bit???” A small bunny draped herself over Papyrus. She rapped his fists against his skull weakly, muttering angrily under her breath. “Do You even-hic-know what you did??” 

Since Papyrus could practically smell how intoxicated she was, he decided to tread carefully. “Tell the truth?” 

“He was so excited to show you his restaurant!” She wailed into his shirt. “And you just ruined ittttt!”

Another monster wandered over to the bar, some sort of gigantic mouth type monster, and pulled the drunk monster back by her shirt. “I think you need some water, Bun.” He mumbled. 

Papyrus leaned forward and rested his head in his hands, the words from the drunk monster rolling around in his head. Was it really that bad? 

… Well, he did call it a purgatory. That might've been too much. 

He recalled the look Grillby gave him just before leaving. For the first time since they started dating, he couldn't actually tell what sort of expression Grillby was wearing. He thought that it wasn't something to worry about, but maybe… 

He had to fix this. 

Papyrus got up from the stool and grabbed his bag. “I'm going to go fix this, somehow,” He said to the bird monster as he headed for the door where Grillby had disappeared. 

The monster smiled a little, raising their wing in a salute. “Good luck. Oh, and Papyrus?” 

Papyrus looked back. “Yes?” 

“We all like Grillby here. You seem to make him happy. You make him cry again, you'll have problems. Got it?” 

Papyrus felt his SOUL shiver from the sudden cold intent coming from the bar. Every monster had their eyes on him, and it was apparent how important Grillby was to them. 

Luckily, the feeling was mutual. 

He stepped through the door, pausing a moment to let his eyelights adjust to the absence of light. He eyed the staircase up to Grillby's apartment. Could he have gone up there? It wasn't like Papyrus could just let himself in to check, so he headed for the side door outside. 

He cracked open the door and stuck his head out, hearing flames crackle in surprise. “Grillby!” 

“...Oh, hey,” Grillby said quietly. He was bundled up in his usual jacket, hands bunched in his pockets. His face was bare, leaving the wind to beat against his low flames. 

Papyrus frowned at the sight. “Grillby, I don't think you should be out here, it's very cold. Here, come with me inside.”

Grillby grunted but allowed himself to be led inside. The two stood awkwardly in the dark, and Papyrus figured he should probably apologize sooner rather than later. 

“Grillby, I'm sorry. I said terrible things I shouldn't have and made you upset. I should've been more careful of my words, especially since you were so excited to show me your business.”

Grillby sighed, waving him off. “... It's okay, I shouldn't have been so sensitive, probably. I know how you feel about healthy foods, so it's no wonder you wouldn't like this stuff--”

“Well, wait a second. I haven't even tried your food yet, so I can't judge until then, right?”

“... You would try it? Even though it's greasy?” 

Papyrus pulled Grillby into a tight hug. He pressed his teeth to Grillby's flames lovingly. “I would do most anything for you, Grillby. I'm sorry again.”

“...It's okay, I still like you, even if you're rude,” Grillby said playfully, returning the hug. 

“Also, you look really nice in your uniform.”

“...I knew you'd like it.” 

 


	20. Day 20: Picnic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picnic time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still visiting friends across the way, so my prompts are less lengthy for this period. Thank you for still enjoying them!  
> NOTE: I will probably revisit this prompt and give it the attention I think it deserves after the challenge is over.

The chimes near the Waterfall ferry stop clinked against each other in the light breeze, eliciting a series of pleasant sounds to echo in the nearly room. Grillby always did like the chimes there, and really wanted to find out which monster or monsters were responsible for installing them. He wouldn't mind getting some tips for installing a few of his own in Snowdin, although they would probably freeze over after a few hours. Maybe if he imbued a few with a bit of his fire magic it'll be enough? 

With a soft sigh Grillby stretched his arms up in the air, reveling in the pleasurable ache it produced. He glanced down at his watch, noting that the ferry would be arriving soon, then looked to the basket at his feet. It was small, made from the felled Snowdin Trees during a craft-along in the Library. Donna, the shopkeeper of the General Store, had given it to him as a gift some years ago, where it sat in his apartment and gathered dust until Papyrus found it the last time he was over. He suggested that they use the basket for a picnic, and Grillby agreed rather easily. He always did fancy the idea of a picnic. 

They set the date and the place (Waterfall, Grillby's suggestion.), and now Grillby just had to wait for his date. 

The shifting water caught Grillby attention, and the ferry floated into view. The Riverperson, a monster Grillby was quickly becoming acquainted with, nodded in Grillby’s direction. Grillby politely returned the action, keeping his eyes peeled on Papyrus exiting the ferry. 

“Thank you again!” Papyrus called. He made his way around to Grillby who could stop staring at him, or rather, his attire. 

Papyrus had mentioned before that he liked dressing in more unconventional ways, but Grillby hadnt had a chance to see it in action until now. Today he was wearing a soft, pastel purple dress, long enough to cover his thighs, with a belt around the middle to cinch the material to his spine. It would've made for a traditional outfit that Grillby could see being normal for Hotland weather, except Papyrus had paired it with a black, studded leather jacket and combat boots. He might've thought it was odd at some point in the past, but now all Grillby could think of was how it complemented his personality so well. 

Grillby opened his arms as Papyrus went in for the hug, chuckling as he lifted Papyrus into the air. “... How was your ride?” He asked, lowered his boyfriend to the ground. 

Papyrus placed a quick peck to Grillby's face. “Very pleasant.” He gestured down to the basket. “Everything all ready to go?” 

“...Yep. I packed a variety of foods you might want to eat, as well as a few of mine.”

“Ohhhh, what kind of food did you pack?” Papyrus asked, bending down to take a peek. Grillby slapped his hand away playfully and grabbed the basket. 

“...You'll see when we get there. Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let's do it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised a story for me and picnics. It's not too entertaining, but literally for seven years now (and I can say that with certainty because the SO and I had a dating anniversary yesterday), I've been pestering him about taking me on a picnic. I'm sure in the beginning there were actual reasons, like being busy in college and such, but at this point it's devolved to like an inside joke.
> 
> Sighhhhhhhhhh, I'm never gonna get my picnic ;;;;;;;


	21. Day 21: One teaching the other a craft/skill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby finally shows off his hidden talent, and Papyrus decides he wants to learn.

“... Okay, I’m still not too good at this but…” 

Papyrus watched with bated breath as Grillby got comfortable on his stool. The grand piano in the room seemed so out of place in front of him, and it was still a surprise that Grillby had known how to play it. There wasn’t enough space to sit with Grillby at the instrument, so Papyrus stood beside him. “I’m ready to hear you, please serenade me!”

“...Unfortunately, I can’t sing, so you’re out of luck there.” Grillby shrugged. “...Okay, here I go.”

Grillby lowered his fingers to the keys and began to play. The first notes were hesitant and shaky, but as he got more comfortable the notes evened out into a soft melody. It was apparent that he wasn’t a pro at the instrument. There were missed keys here and there, and a few chords that felt a little off, but to Papyrus it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. 

The only thing that was better than listening was watching Grillby during his performance. He always seemed to have a certain amount of rigidness in his movements, probably from playing the part of a proper bartender every day, if Papyrus had to guess. However, here Grillby was fluid. His fingers looked comfortable on the keys, and his flames gave off a relaxed feel as they slowly swayed back and forth to the melody. Was it just from Grillby enjoying himself, or was there some sort of aspect of the piano that helped him relax?

The longer Papyrus observed him, the more Papyrus realized that he wanted to learn how to play like Grillby. 

Papyrus clapped when Grillby finished. “That was beautiful!”

“...Thank you,” Grillby said, rubbing the back of his head shyly. The tips of his flames turned a bright blue from embarrassment, and Papyrus couldn’t help but wrap the elemental into a tight hug. 

“Hey, do you think you can teach me how to play?”

“...Me, teach you?” Grillby blinked and looked between the Papyrus and the piano. “...I’m not sure if I’d be the best teacher.”

“Of course you would!” Papyrus said. He placed his hands on Grillby’s shoulders, digging his fingers into the flames just the way he knew Grillby liked. “You’re patient, knowledgeable, and definitely hot enough to do it!”

“...Why is being hot a prerequisite?” Grillby asked, chuckling. “...Okay, I’ll see what I can do--here, let’s switch places.”

Grillby stood and allowed Papyrus to sit down. Papyrus ran his phalanges down the bed of keys, gasping in awe at how smooth they were to the touch. He pressed one of the keys down toward the right end and basked in the sound of the higher pitch. “I’m ready, Mr. Grillby sir, teach me!”

Grillby choked behind him, letting out a wheeze of laughter once he found his breath again. “...You’re so silly,” He said, before reaching down and placing his fingers over top of Papyrus’s. “...I think for today, I’ll show you the key names and one of the musical scales. And if you don’t run from that, maybe next time we can learn a short song, provided you remember the keys.”

Papyrus leaned back into Grillby’s warmth, turning his head to place a small smooch against Grillby’s clothed torso. “I’ll learn fast, just for you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the piano comment from Day 4 makes its appearance!


	22. Day 22: Wiping Tears Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus scores tickets to see Mettaton live, and of course invites his cute boyfriend with him to see the show.

The MTT Resort was just as lavish and extravagant on the inside than it looked on the outside if such a thing were possible. The lobby was bright, with forever freshly polished golden floors and a long crimson walkway that led from the entrance to the back exit. In the middle stood a large fountain, complete with a shining statue of the Hotel owner himself dramatically posed and spitting water from what Grillby could only assume was his mouth. Despite having to pass through the Resort every time he wanted to go to the CORE or New Home, Grillby always found himself amazed at the building, today even more so since he actually had the pleasure of _dining_ there.

He stopped in his gazing around to look over at Papyrus, dressed up rather well for the occasion, who was in the process of metaphorically unhinging his jaw from the floor as well.

“...I still can’t believe your dad managed to get tickets to one of Mettaton’s dine-in shows,” Grillby said, eyeing the entryway to the dining area. He vaguely wondered how packed it would end up since it was a live show. Luckily it shouldn’t be too difficult to convince Papyrus to sit in the front to ease his anxiety over the possible crowds.

Papyrus turned to Grillby with a grin. “Being the son of the Royal Scientist has some perks, after all! However, I’m pretty sure if I had just walked up to Mettaton and asked for a ticket, he would’ve happily given me one.”

“...That does seem to fit his m.o.,” Grillby agreed. He reached out and grabbed Papyrus’s hand, squeezing it fondly. “But you probably would’ve been frozen on the spot if you actually saw him, huh?”

“I mean-- j-just because you’re right doesn’t mean you have to say it so bluntly!” Papyrus looked away quickly, but Grillby caught the hint of a blush on his cheekbones. _So cute._

With Papyrus distracted, Grillby snuck in close and landed a direct smooch right to the side of his skull, managing to catch the small area that wasn’t slathered in MTT-brand bishie cream or anime powder. He received a loud ‘NYEH’ in response, along with a brighter blush, and Grillby decided to cut Papyrus some slack for once. “...Haha, my apologies. How about we go take a seat?”

The two walked hand-in-hand to the dining area, pausing briefly at the Fish Receptionist to confirm their reservations for a table, two chairs, the plates, forks, knives, spoons, and finally, the cups. After that, they each put in their orders (the steak in the shape of Mettaton’s face, of course) and then scoped out a table to take. They both managed to pick the table closest to the receptionist, which also happened to have a prime front row spot for the stage, and then they took their seats. Well, Grillby pulled the seat out for Papyrus and then moved his chair closer to Papyrus before sitting.

“What a charmer.” Papyrus pretended to swoon dramatically, narrowly avoiding a painful collision of his ribs to the table edge as he landed in Grillby’s lap.

Grillby let out an amused huff and lightly nudged Papyrus. “...Save the theatrics for the show, hm? You can’t go stealing Mettaton’s thunder.”

“As if I could!”

After all the tables were filled and the food was served, the lights dimmed as the show began. Grillby could feel Papyrus’s hand take his in a vice grip as wheels squeaked over the wood flooring of the stage, and with a drumroll the curtain parted, revealing the famous rectangular robot, Mettaton.

Mettaton threw his arms into the air. “ _HELLO! ARE YOU READY FOR THE SHOW?”_

The crowd responded with a series of claps, cheers, shouts, and, in Papyrus’s case, loud declarations of love.

Mettaton directed his attention to Grillby and Papyrus’s table and his LEDs lit up in the approximation of a heart emote. “ _AND I LOVE YOU, YOU HANDSOME MONSTER. AND YOU--”_ He pointed to Grillby, who quickly looked down at himself--” _AND ALL OF YOU LOVELY MONSTERS OUT THERE! PLEASE SIT BACK, RELAX, AND HAVE FUN AT THE METTATON LIVE DINNER SHOW SPECTACULAR!_ ”

The curtain closed again, and Papyrus took the moment to whisper excitedly to Grillby. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, _he looked at us!”_

“...I know!” Grillby said back. “...I’m pretty pumped for this now.”

“Right?!”

The show quickly resumed, and Mettaton took the stage. The main character of the show (aptly named Mettaton) was a no-nonsense detective who was five days to retirement. A beautiful young woman (also played by Mettaton) came to the detective with one last job, a rumored ‘unsolvable’ murder case that no other detective could solve before.

Over the course of five acts and a brief intermission, the show followed the two characters as they worked to solve the case. There was romance, drama, political intrigue, and a lot of explosive action, much to Grillby’s delight.

Everything worked up to the final scene, in which Detective Mettaton was at a standoff on a burning building top (a prop, of course) with the main villain behind the murders, the beautiful young woman. The crowd watched with bated breath as Mettaton switched between his roles with ease, and when the scene finally concluded with the two characters (somehow) in a loving embrace, everyone stood and cheered.

“ _THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL!_ ” Mettaton bowed, switching to the young woman’s wig before bowing again, and so on. “ _THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TO THE SHOW, SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!_ ”

Grillby waited in his seat for the crowd to dissipate, turning from the stage to Papyrus. “...So what did you think about the--whoa, Papy, are you okay?” He stared in shock as large, bulbous tears fell from Papyrus’s sockets. His flames flickered uneasily as he put his hands out towards Papyrus, hovering around his torso as he tried to figure out what to do. “...Papy?”

Papyrus sniffed loudly, bringing a hand up to his sockets. “I-I just…I’M JUST SO HAPPY!”

_Huh?_

“...Huh?” Grillby asked, parroting his thoughts. He placed a hand on Papyrus’s arm, gently rubbing it up and down in an attempt to soothe him. “...You’re...happy?”

Papyrus nodded, blowing his (nonexistent) nose with a napkin. “I’ve never been able to see Mettaton in person before, and now I just can’t stop crying! HE’S JUST-- _sniff--_ SO HANDSOME!”

Sighing, Grillby moved to Papyrus’s wet sockets, using his thumb to evaporate the tears streaming down. The rapid pounding of his SOUL settled, and the anxious feeling of Papyrus being upset was slowly replaced with fondness. He had never seen a person so moved by seeing their favorite star before, and he felt his love for Papyrus grow from the experience. His face melted into a genuine smile, replacing his thumbs on Papyrus’s sockets with soft kisses.

It wasn’t until after Grillby had made it all the way home that he realized something crucial during that small moment: he felt actual love towards Papyrus. And the scariest thing? He’d probably been feeling this towards Papyrus for a while now.

Welp, now he had to figure out how to tell him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was kind of inspired to write this prompt in this way after an experience I had last summer. 
> 
> Me, being the kpop fanatic that I am, went to KCON in LA to see my favorite girl group, WJSN (or Cosmic Girls). I made friends with a group of girls in line, and proceeded to wait with this group for the six hours before the event started so we could get front row standing spots. 
> 
> Now, there was another very popular kpop group there, Seventeen, and a lot of girls were really excited to see them. Like, hella excited. After the event concluded, I shit you not, about a dozen girls legit collapsed into sobbing fits, including one of the girls from the group I befriended. Turns out she was so happy to see her favorite group up close that her poor heart just exploded with emotions and sent her crying. Me, being the emotional crybaby that I am, completely understood but was also super baffled by the whole thing. 
> 
> The end.


	23. Day 23: Taking care of while sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After receiving news that Papyrus was sick, Grillby spurs into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep giving these two illnesses to explain off canon quirks, sorry. 
> 
> Tags: Both Grillby and Papyrus POVs, tiny bit of angst (?), accidental declarations of love

Grillby looked up at the tall apartment building in front of him, glancing down at the address in his phone to make sure he was in the right place. He was in New Home, about a few blocks from the entrance to the castle, in an area where the buildings nearly touched the ceiling to accommodate the overcrowding. The apartment, whose address he had received from Sans, didn’t quite stand out from the other buildings. It was grey, with a splash of sprawling vines crawling up one side of the wall in a vivid green color.

It would be his second time coming to the Skeleton household, although the reason for this visit wasn’t as fun as last time.

Steeling himself, Grillby stepped forward to press the call button on the side of the building. He tapped in the apartment number into the keypad and waited for the call to connect.

 _“hello?”_ The speakers crackled as Sans’s voice came through the intercom, along with a mess of static. “ _who’s there?”_

Grillby nearly pressed his face to the intercom so that the system would pick him up and spoke as loud as he could. “...Knock knock.”

A beat passed, then--” _oh, thank god it’s you. here; i’ll let you up.”_

The intercom turned off. A second later, the door clicked sharply and opened, allowing Grillby to enter. He made his way to the elevator and hit the button for Papyrus’s floor before bouncing on the tips of his shoes anxiously.

According to Sans, Papyrus was sick. He had a condition where his magic didn’t regulate itself normally, and usually, it manifested itself in allowing too much magic to flow into his system, causing restlessness and insomnia. It was easy enough to deal with (apparently), but every now and again his body would decide to function in the opposite direction. Instead of getting too much magic, Papyrus wouldn’t receive enough and would basically be confined to his bed until his magic stabilized.

Sans had called Grillby earlier that day to let him know that Papyrus was on bedrest, and while he didn’t seem too worried about it on the phone, Grillby was borderline terrified. As a being that was 100% magic, he couldn’t even possibly imagine not having enough magic to function, and he recalled a few recipes his mother had given him to boost magic levels. He nearly booked it out of his apartment with his bag full of handwritten remedies and ingredients, barely remembering to lock the door behind him before running to catch the next ferry to Hotland. He managed to tell Sans on the boat that he was coming, and judging by his response at the door, it was a good plan, he guessed.

When the elevator doors opened Grillby made a beeline for the Papyrus’s apartment and knocked twice. The door opened and he barely had a second to brace himself before Gaster lunged at him. He let out a grunt as Gaster nearly draped himself over his shoulder, shouting something in a cloud of static that he couldn’t understand. Grillby peeked over his shoulder to see if there were any lingering hands that he could look to for a translation, but unfortunately, there was nothing. Just him and the armless, unintelligible skeleton dad.

Grillby saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly blue magic tugged Gaster back into the apartment. “dad, i keep telling ya that no one can understand ya with all that blubbering.”

Grillby didn’t think that Gaster could be understood on a good day, but his static _was_ slightly more distorted and wobbly today. Now that Grillby could take a good look at him, he could see how ragged the man looked today. His mouth, which Grillby thought to be a permanent smile like Sans’s, was turned upside down today, conveying how distraught he probably sounded. His back was hunched, making him look much older than the first time they met.

Sans glanced over at Grillby and gestured for him to come in before turning his attention back to his dad. “Listen g, grillbz and i can take it over from here okay, go get some sleep.” Gaster said something that Grillby didn’t understand, but after a hard stare from Sans he shuffled up to the staircase dejectedly.

Grillby watched after him, waiting for the door to close upstairs before turning to Sans. “...He looks stressed.”

“that’s a word for it,” Sans sighed, blearily rubbing a hand over his forehead. “he’s so worried about it that he brought all of his work home from the office. i can’t even offer ya a seat because his stuff is all over the living room.”

Peeking around the corner, Grillby gawked at the state of the living room. Large stacks of papers and blueprints were piled high on the coffee table, the couch, and even precariously balanced on top of the TV. “...Wow.”

“you’re telling me. luckily, paps is on the tail end of this one so he should be waking up soon, and i bet he’ll love to see you,” Sans said with a grin. “so let’s pick out something from that recipe book o’yours and give him something tasty for when he’s awake.”

_________________

Everything hurt.

It wasn’t the sharp hurt of being stabbed with something, but more like...if his marrow in his bones had been replaced with lead. Every twitch of his body sent a dull pain through his system, causing the magic holding himself together to ache terribly.

This didn’t happen often, the ache. Usually, it was more like adrenaline, and Papyrus ached when he _couldn’t_ move, not when he tried to. But every so often... well, this happened.

Hopefully, his dad didn’t worry too much.

Oh, who was he kidding, of course he was worried, and Sans probably had to appease him, the poor guy. Maybe he’ll go easy on him with the brotherly shenanigans for the next couple of days and give him a pass on a pun, or something.

A shuffling in his room caught his attention, and with a groan of pain, Papyrus opened his eyes to find the source. He shifted his eye-lights over and, to his surprise, the last monster he expected to be in his home was there, in a chair, sitting so patiently and so relaxed as if he belonged there. “Grillby? Wh...what are you doing here?”

Grillby’s shoulders hitched, and he looked down at Papyrus sheepishly. “...Sorry, did I wake you?”

“Hmm…” Papyrus wanted to say yes, but maybe he was already on his way to waking up before Grillby got there? Sans was never able to wake him when these sleeping fits hit him, so he doubted that Grillby had the ability to do it. “Probably not.”

Grillby let out a relieved sigh. “...Oh good. So, I’m not sure if you can see it, but I have some food here for you. It’s a family recipe actually. We usually had it at home during the winter when our magic was low and I figured maybe it’ll work for you? If not, at least it’s something to eat.”

Food? Papyrus’s magic stuttered at the prospect of food, and he realized that he was actually feeling quite hungry. Still… “Can I eat it?” He asked, hoping his unasked question would get picked up.

“...I wasn’t sure myself, so I had Sans try it. He’s not dead, so…?”

“Good enough for me, but…” Papyrus went to move his head but stopped as a wave of fatigue washed over him. “It’s...a little hard to move.”

“...I can try to spoon feed you?” Grillby asked.

Papyrus perked up. “Would you really? God, I love you, thank you so much.” Grillby’s mouth gaped open, and it wasn’t until Papyrus went over what he said in his head that he realized the impact of his words. “W-wait!”

“...I’ve been trying to figure out when to say it, but you stole my thunder…”

Papyrus was sure he now understood the meaning of the term ‘whiplash’ with how fast he connected the dots in his head. “Hold on, you love me too?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Damn bish, can't you go one prompt without leaving a huge cliffhanger?  
> Also me: ITS TIME TO SLEEEPPPPPPP!!!!!!!
> 
> Basically I couldn't start this until 7pm so here you go, thanks for reading <3


	24. Day 24: Moving in Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After they confessed their feelings to one another, Grillby and Papyrus figure out what steps to take next.

The concept of love was a curious thing. Sure, monsters were made of love and had love coursing through every inch of their magic, but for a monster to be able and identify when they were  _ in  _ love? Well, that was difficult. 

Scratch difficult, it was borderline impossible. 

Since monsters were made to love others, it became a big ordeal when a monster realized they  _ love  _ loved another monster, instead of the regular old love. They would get parties thrown in their honor, gifts, the whole shebang. That’s why, when Sans and Gaster nearly steamrolled their way into Papyrus’s room after Papyrus screeched his confessions, Grillby understood. It was new and exciting, and a very Big Deal ™, but that didn’t stop him from blushing profusely and politely but firmly excusing himself from their apartment to shuffle back home, using his bag to hide the glowing evidence of his returned feelings in his chest from prying eyes. No need to have all of Snowdin gossiping just yet. 

After giving Papyrus a few days to recover fully from his illness, Grillby set a meeting up for the two of them, Sans, and Gaster to discuss next steps. He would’ve just rather talked it out with Papyrus alone, but to be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so having more experienced monsters there for advice was helpful. 

The four of them sat comfortably in the skeletons’ living room (fully cleaned of all papers, thankfully), with Grillby and Papyrus sharing a large sitting chair and the other two sharing the couch. Sans looked the same as ever, his permanent grin sitting stoically on his face as he glanced between the two of them, but Gaster…

Grillby smiled as he looked over at Gaster and his increasingly growing pile of tissues. He wasn’t entirely sure how a skeleton could produce the mucus necessary to make some of those sounds emitting from Gaster’s face, but it was happening. A pair of disembodied hands were solely on tissue duty, dabbing at his sockets, nose, and mouth, while two more were in front of him and sighing rapidly. 

‘ **I can’t believe that my baby boy is in love, and that someone loves him back!’** he signed, letting out a warbled wave of static from his open mouth. 

“i know, it’s real en _ light _ enin’, ain’t it?” Sans said, using his blue magic to grab another box of tissues from the table. 

Papyrus bristled beside Grillby--whether it was from the bad pun or the blatant display of laziness, as he tended to call it, Grillby wasn’t sure--, but said nothing aside from pulling Grillby’s hand into his lap. He traced the length of his digits gently, and Grillby couldn’t help but return the affection with a gentle headbutt. The sight only made Gaster sob louder and bury his face into his tissues.

Sans patted Gaster on the back absently but kept his attention on Grillby. “so, uh, what’s next for you two? it’s a bit too early for soul bonding, yeah?”

Grillby nodded. Usually, when monster couples (though not always contained to just two) professed their love, they decided to bond their souls together in a ceremony. This soul bond was a permanent process, and while there was a minimal chance of regret, it was generally recommended that monsters were together for a certain amount of time. At six months, it was still a bit too soon. “...Yes, I think so. If Papyrus was amenable to it, and with Gaster’s blessings…” Grillby took a deep breath and sat up straight, turning to Papyrus with a ferocity he didn’t know he had in him. “...I was hoping that Papyrus might consider moving in with me.”

The apartment was dead silent as Grillby’s words soaked in. Even Gaster, who had been full on sobbing at the mention of a Soul Bond, was shocked into silence. Papyrus’s blank sockets bore into Grillby, teeth clacking against each other as he tried and failed to respond. 

“...Papy,” Grillby said, taking both of Papyrus’s dainty hands into his own. “...Will you do me the honor of moving in with me?”

Papyrus’s eye-lights blinked back into existence and he looked down at his hands. “I...I…” His bones rattled noisily as his knees knocked together. Fresh tears pooled at the corners of his sockets, and he looked about a second away from needing a tissue himself. “You would want to live with me? Together?”

“...If you would have me.”

The dam broke as Papyrus flung himself into Grillby’s arms, clinging tight to his sweater as he sobbed. Through the tears and wails, he managed to convey an agreement to moving in, which set Gaster off into another round of crying into Sans’s arms. Grillby politely looked away as Papyrus’s soul shined enthusiastically underneath his clothing in happiness, leaving him to glance awkwardly at Sans comforting his father. Though he was nearly engulfed by the dark, thick fabric of Gaster’s robe billowing on him, he gave Grillby a thumbs-up and a look Grillby knew all too well. It was the ‘Mess up my sibling and I’ll mess you up’ look that he often gave to Fuku’s suitors himself, so while it was a little odd having it directed in his way, Grillby knew it was Sans’s way of passing on his own blessing.

After a week of prep work and scheduling, Papyrus finally moved in the following weekend. Despite having a rather busy room, the amount of things Papyrus decided to bring fit into one medium box, which he carried in his arms off the ferry into Snowdin. Grillby could hear the whispered conversations from open doorways and in the street as the two of them walked side by side, and he knew that he was going to be the talk of the town again tonight at the bar. 

However, as Grillby glanced at the beaming face of his boyfriend and future Bondmate, he realized that he didn’t mind it all that much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can pry Good Dad Gaster from my cold, dead body. I love him so much, and I love (not overly) protective and supportive bro Sans, and I love Grillby and Papyrus ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;


	25. Day 25: Adopting a Pet Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cute boys find a cute pet together!

The door chimed as the two entered the pet shop, and a chorus of animal noises responded. Papyrus brought his hands to his chest, his SOUL simply melting at the variety of potential new friends, and as he looked over at Grillby, he could tell that...eventually it would be a mutual feeling for him too.

It took only two weeks in his new apartment for Papyrus to realize that something was missing. Sure, he loved living with Grillby. The elemental was kind and polite as usual, and his cooking was to die for. He was the perfect cuddler, and Papyrus wanted nothing more than to greet the day in Grillby’s arms, and to smooch him on his way out to work.

Despite that, they never seemed to really sync up well except on the weekends. He worked in the morning when Grillby was free, and by the time he got home Grillby was already downstairs working the bar. 

He was lonely, so what better way to cure loneliness than to raise a small animal together, right?

Papyrus grabbed Grillby’s hand, squeezing it tight as he pulled him over to the display. “Grillby, look, it’s a snake!” He said. The striped snake slithered over to the window, tongue forking out as it checked them out. 

Grillby bristled. “...I’m not sure if this is the one for me.”

“Oh? What kind of pet would you like then?” Papyrus asked. Maybe they had similar tastes?

“...Something clean, I think.” He gently shepherded Papyrus along with him as he checked out the animals. Due to a lack of Overground storms in the past couple of months, the pickings were slim here, and soon they ran out of eligible pets to look at. “...Hmm.”

Papyrus picked up on the slight tone change of his voice with a grin. Could he have found his perfect new friend? “What’d you find?”

“...How about that one?” Grillby crouched down at pointed in what Papyrus believed to be an empty display, but once he joined Grillby he spotted a small orange ball of fur in the corner.

“Is that a cat?” Papyrus asked.

“...Is that okay?” Grillby’s flames wavered unsteadily. Papyrus wasn’t the biggest fan of furry animals (or at least that infernal dog that keeps stealing his wrenches at work) but, this one might be nice?

“Sure!” Papyrus flagged down a worker and nearly rattled with excitement as the monster ushered them into a sealed off room on the other side of the windows. 

“So you want to meet this beautiful lady?” The monster asked as they kneeled down and picked up the cat. They turned to Grillby and Papyrus. “Okay, who’s first?”

Papyrus took a step back and gently nudged Grillby forward with his elbow. He snickered as Grillby gave him a look ™, which instantly faded when the cat was put in his arms. 

“Alright now, just hold them like this...and support their head here...right, you got it, you’re a natural!” The monster laughed and took a step back to allow Grillby to adjust. Papyrus watched both Grillby and the cat check each other out, neither of them making a move other than swaying flames and clenching claws. Finally, the cat yawned and snuggled closer to Grillby’s chest.

“Ahhhh, that’s so cute!” Papyrus squealed. “What do you think?”

“...Please let’s take her home.”

With their new friend picked out, the two of them bought all the necessities that they’d probably need for a cat: food, water bowls, a box of sand, for some reason. Papyrus shoved all of their supplies into his inventory and Grillby got to carry the small cage that the cashier provided for their transportation. They walked through the streets towards the ferry and wondered what to name their new friend. 

“I’m thinking Papyrus Jr.,” Papyrus said. “It has a good ring to it.”

Grillby paused at the crosswalk and turned back with a frown. “... She's a girl.”

“I think Papyrus is a very respectable name for a girl!” Papyrus crossed his arms with a huff. 

Grillby sighed, shaking his head slightly before crossing the street. “... Putting that aside, Jr. can't be used for a girls name.”

“Not what that attitude! I think our darling new girl deserves a name that fits her legacy!” 

“... I'm not naming our girl cat Papyrus Jr.” 

“Do you have a better name?”

“...Actually…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They named her Pepper btw. 
> 
> Im almost done with travelinggggg, right in time for the last few days bahahahah
> 
> Also, important fanon universe info: the eligible pets are literally animal friends who fell down into the Underground from above. 'Why would a domesticated cat be so far on a mountain away from their family and fall in?' you might ask?
> 
> Because I said so, that's why.


	26. Day 26: Bad Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus's habits are starting to get on Grillby's nerves...

Grillby examined himself in the mirror, checking over his suit for last-minute problem areas before he left. So far, everything looked to be in order: the shirt buttons were accounted for, the creases were sharp, and his pants were devoid of wrinkles. He turned around to look at the back and sighed when a light dusting of orange fur came into view. That cat. 

“... Pepper, you know this is all your doing, correct?” He called over his shoulder, knowing that the mischievous creature wasn't too far off. True to his thoughts, a tiny mew came from the bed, and he turned to see the orange cat sprawled out on Papyrus's side of the bed. She watched his every move from her throne, tail casually flicking from side to side in contentment. 

He chuckled to himself. The shedding had been a surprise after they bought Pepper home. He and Papyrus practically ran themselves ragged trying to find ways to keep the fur to a minimum in the apartment. Papyrus still worked on eliminating the Orange Menace, as he called it, but Grillby gave up and just let it happen. He kept a lint roller downstairs near the Fire Exit to get most of it, but whatever he couldn't get he just left. It kept his patrons laughing, so overall it wasn't too awful. 

Stepping away from the mirror, Grillby stepped over to the bed and bent down to pet Pepper. She instantly curled up around his hand, butting her hand against him and letting out a symphony of purrs to accompany the action. She loved how warm his hands were, an additional perk to being a fire elemental that Grillby abused as often as he could. “...Make sure to keep the apartment safe until Papyrus gets home, okay? I'm trusting you.”

Pepper trilled in response.  _ God, she was so cute.  _

After a few more pats, Grillby stepped into the living room. He felt his mood began to sour as his eyes fell on the empty side table, a place where his gloves were supposed to be.  _ Papyrus.  _

One thing that Grillby couldn't have expected from Papyrus unless he visited his family apartment was how…meticulous he took certain things. In this case, it was cleaning. 

When he first confronted Papyrus about it, he confessed that he was often the sole cleaner in his household. His brother was a slob and his father, despite his appearances, was a workaholic who never put much energy into anything more than work (and loving his sons, Grillby had tacked on). Because of this, he cleaned regularly in their apartment now, sometimes twice a day if he had his way, which wouldn't have been a problem, except. 

Except he had this bad habit of moving things. 

Grillby was a creature of habit. He always put his things in the same place and expected to find them there as well. This business of Papyrus rearranging the room every time he cleaned was… well, it was quite annoying. He didn't even put the things back in the same place, so even once Grillby got used to a place, he had to find a new one!

Thin wisps of smoke flowed from his mouth in irritation, but Grillby fought to keep himself calm. He'd just have to spend twenty minutes looking for his gloves, then he can go to work. 

And maybe afterward he can confront Papyrus and set up some sort of deal to not move his work stuff, at least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The growing pains of a new couple living together, I get it. Hopefully, they can come to a compromise <3


	27. Day 27: Painting a Room Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus isn't so happy about a wall in the bedroom, so he petitions to paint it.

It was a Saturday when Papyrus stood in the bedroom, arms crossed over his ribcage as he thought, ‘Wow, this wall is boring’.

It was just the one wall, really. The wall behind their bed. Every other wall in their room had something neat and awesome. The left wall? Cool blueprints from his old room. The right wall? Some sort of weird, colorful rocks that were warm to the touch. Papyrus didn't really understand it but Grillby put them up. He loved Grillby, so obviously he loved these as well. Even the far wall had Papyrus's cool skull flag on it, so why was this other wall so…plain? He had to solve this dilemma right away! 

He went to the living room to confront Grillby, quickly finding him on the couch with Pepper. They both looked to be dozing, or at least close to it, and for a second Papyrus felt a twinge of guilt over having to bother them.

Only for a second, though.

“Grillby!” Papyrus nearly shouted. Grillby’s flames shot up towards the ceiling in alarm and he turned around in a panic.

“...Is there something wrong?!” Grillby asked.

“Yes, there is!” Papyrus took a large, unnecessary breath before continuing. “It’s our bedroom wall!”

Grillby stared at him, and though Papyrus couldn’t quite see it, he knew that it was the far-off stare he usually gave when he was trying to process something. He waited for Grillby to finish thinking, spotting the telltale sign of a small, almost imperceptible nod. “...Our bedroom wall?”

“It’s so plain!”

“...I thought it was something important,” Grillby sighed in relief and his flames receded back to their regular height. A moment later he seemed to notice what he said and sputtered out, “...Sorry, I meant something dire. This is important to you, so it’s important to me.”

“Aw,” Papyrus carefully hopped over the back of the couch and into Grillby’s lap, just narrowly missing Pepper who jumped to the floor reflexively. “You care about me, that’s so nice!”

Grillby huffed out a laugh and wrapped his arms loosely around Papyrus’s spine. “...Course I am, because I love you.” He said, pressing his mouth to Papyrus’s cheek.

“Nyeh!” Papyrus was never going to get used to Grillby’s sudden displays of love, but he couldn’t complain; he was a sucker for a good smooch. 

“...So, what’s this about the wall again?” Grillby asked.

Oh, that’s right! He was complaining about the wall! “It’s plain! I want to paint something there.”

“...Yeah? What were you thinking?”

“Hmm…” Papyrus tilted his head to the side, gently resting it against Grillby’s forehead as he thought. “Something that encapsulates our love for each other.” 

“...Okay, I can see that. But how do we convey that into a wall?”

“I’ll figure it out,” Papyrus said. “I’ll go to New Home and look at paint, and then we can do it tomorrow?”

Grillby nodded. “...Sounds good, pick out something good.”

“Well, of course! I am perfect at finding the perfect colors to complement our room!” Papyrus posed as best as he could while sitting. He was….mostly confident that he could figure it out. Probably.

\------

The next day Papyrus and Grillby stood in their bedroom. The bed had been moved to the side earlier, and Pepper had been banished from the room for the evening to prevent paw prints over the rest of their apartment. It was easy for Papyrus to find clothing he didn’t mind getting paint on (he loved paint splotched clothing, after all!), but Grillby had to dig deep into his clothing drawer for old clothes. 

“So, when’s the last time you wore that stuff?” Papyrus asked, eyeing Grillby’s attire. His shirt was slightly faded, with an image of an odd dog-cat like creature that Papyrus swore he saw in Waterfall once, and his pants looked to be several inches too short for him. 

“...” Grillby averted his gaze in embarrassment and instead gestured to the wall. “...Did you figure out what we’re going to paint?”

“I did!” Papyrus pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it so Grillby could see. “I was thinking a skull head, because I am a skeleton after all, and then--get this--we paint it on fire.”

“...On fire,” Grillby repeated.

“Yeah! I thought it could symbolize our love!” Grillby looked at Papyrus with that familiar far-off look, and he felt his enthusiasm droop slightly. Did Grillby...not like it? “Is it not good?”

“...It’s a little scary,” Grillby confessed, rubbing the underside of his arm awkwardly. “...But, I can see where you’re going with it.”

“You can?” Papyrus asked. His eye-lights sparkled with hope.

“...I think it’s a good idea. I like the bones and the fire, but what if we made it into a bonfire instead?”

“A bonfire?”

Grillby nodded, shifting his weight to his other foot. “Yeah, it’s kind of a big thing in fire elemental culture. Back in the day, they were apparently used in rituals to make something sacred or pure, and they were made by burning animal bones. It might be nice to signify that our love is protected...or something.”

“Oh my god???? Yes??? Let’s do it!”

“...We should also add Pepper or I’ll cry.”

“As if that was optional!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just barely getting this in on time, I still have 20 minutes on my coast!


	28. Day 28: Laundry Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby probably should've learned the difference between his and Papyrus's clothing before attempting to do laundry.

“...Okay, to be fair, all of my clothing is fire-proof, so I just assumed...” Grillby shut his mouth and looked down in shame, knowing that if he would only make it worse if he continued on.

He and Papyrus stood in what functioned as Grillby’s laundry room, with a large furnace instead of what he guessed was a normal washer and dryer. Since they started living together Papyrus had done most of the chores, the cleaning and the dusting, the straightening and, most importantly, the clothes washing. Grillby wasn’t entirely sure how non-fire elemental monsters washed their clothing, but obviously, Papyrus seemed satisfied with whatever he was doing so it must’ve worked.

This weekend Papyrus had decided to visit Sans and Gaster in New Home, so Grillby thought, ‘I should do something nice for my lovely boyfriend’. It probably wasn’t much different from washing his own clothing, right?

Turns out, most clothing isn’t as strong as Grillby’s clothing was made to be.

Instead of the clean, wonderful, crop tops that Papyrus liked to wear underneath his work clothing, a pile of soot and ash awaited Grillby when he opened the latch door. Then, as a perfect topping to the awful situation, Papyrus happened to come home early and announced his arrival by bursting into the laundry room. 

Needless to say, Papyrus wasn’t quite happy with the current state of his clothes. One might even call it depressed. At least Grillby assumed he was depressed over it; the truth is, Papyrus hadn’t said one word since he came across the scattered fabric ashes. 

He watched as Papyrus slowly walked into the room and crouched down beside him. The ash shifted slightly as Papyrus picked up a handful of it, bringing it close to his face for examination. 

“...I’m really sorry,” Grillby said. “...We can go shopping right thing in the morning for you, promise.”

“Yeah,” Papyrus said absently. As if realizing what he said, he tore his gaze away from the ash and nodded. “Yeah, yeah you’re right! This is my chance to get new clothes! To change my image up! I need to figure out the current fashion trends anyway!”

Grillby mentally patted himself on the back for his extraordinary ability to keep cool. “...Perfect, it’s a date then.”

“I look forward to it! Also--Grillby?”

“...Yes?”

“You’re banned from doing the laundry forever.”

“...Yeah, that’s fair.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's starting to run out of steam??? Send help ;;;;;


	29. Day 29: Wearing Each Other's Clothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus decides to finally sate his curiosity and try on Grillby's work outfit

Papyrus hummed a small tune as left the Innkeeper’s home. He carried a large laundry basket full of clean clothes, and stacked on top of it was a layer of Grillby’s neatly pressed work uniforms. 

It had been such good fortune to find someone in the town willing to help him do laundry. In the first week after he moved, he quickly realized that there was no way he could possibly use a furnace to clean his clothes, so he had knocked on doors around town to see if anyone could help him. When he went to the General Shop the lovely bunny behind the counter directed him to the Inn where her sister worked, and luckily she had all the tools necessary to wash, dry, iron, and even steam clean everything that Papyrus had. She was also very willing to help him out, which Papyrus couldn’t say he had expected. Monsters in small towns seemed to look out for one another, he guessed.

In order to keep it nice and simple for the Innkeeper, Papyrus limited his laundry days to Sundays mornings, so it was nice and bright out when returned to the apartment. 

“I’m back!” 

He watched as Pepper padded her way to the doorway, looking up at him curiously and sniffing his leg. When she was satisfied she brushed up against his leg.  

“Hello, Pepper! While I am glad that you’re happy to see me, I must ask that you cease in your actions! It is very difficult to get your fur off my clothing!” Pepper ignored him, purring as she slinked around to his other leg. “You are merciless! Luckily, I love you so you get a free pass, for now!”

Papyrus gently placed the basket down out of the way and, trying his best not to disturb Pepper, took his boots off and set them aside. The purring villainess herself was still wrapping herself around Papyrus’s leg and leaving a thin coating of fur in a ring around his pants. He couldn’t do anything though; he had given his word to let it go for now (as he tended to do every time. Darn that cat and her adorable wiles!), so instead, he settled for taking the basket into his arms again. He glanced in the kitchen as he cut across the living room to see if there were any cute flames hanging around, but unfortunately, there were none.

“Hmm, I wonder where Grillby has gone,” He said to no one in particular, a habit he had found himself doing somewhere shortly after bringing Pepper home. It wasn’t as if she could answer him back, of course, but there was something nice about letting her feel part of the conversation. 

As expected, Pepper didn’t answer back, choosing instead to run ahead of him into the bedroom. She hopped onto the bed and instantly fell into a sprawled heap right in the middle of the bed, her upside down gaze boring into him from underneath her paw. His hands twitched with the urge to pet her but he still had the basket to take care of. After setting it down at the foot of the bed and casting the work uniforms aside, Papyrus gave in to his desires and kissed Pepper on her furry little head before starting in on the laundry.

Papyrus liked doing chores around the house and found them fun, but he had to admit there was something deeply therapeutic about folding clothing in particular. It was simple, repetitive, and he always found himself falling into something almost of a zen type daze when he did it. Before he knew it, the clothes were folded and separated into piles on the bed, sorted by type, color, and its ability to subdue a bird, the latter category being randomly selected by Papyrus for today. He put away the clothes in their appropriate places, except for Grillby’s gloves, which he placed in the living room, as per their agreement. 

He returned to the bedroom and picked up Grillby’s uniforms from the bed. As he went to hang them up in the closet he gazed longingly at the crisp white folds of a shirt, and like every laundry day, he fantasized about what it would be like to put on the uniform. Grillby always looked so nice and handsome in it, and he longed to see if he could look good in it as well. Usually, Grillby was always hanging around so he couldn’t give in to his desire but...the apartment was empty. 

Papyrus brought his hand to his jaw, shoulders shimmying front and back as he mentally debated with himself over what to do. Eventually, his curiosity won out and, after a quick check around to make sure there were no flames around, closed the door to the bedroom and directed his attention to the uniform. He hummed happily--the same tune from before, even though he wasn’t  _ quite  _ sure where it came from. Probably a weird earworm from Sans, no doubt--as he took off his clothing and laid them in a neat pile beside a dozing Pepper. 

He decided to start with the pants since they would be the easiest to put on. He stuck a leg in one side and pulled up the pants leg until his foot had surfaced, and then he did the same with the other leg. As he thought, these were pretty easy to put on, and they fit him nearly perfectly! Thank goodness that they were the same height. The shirt went on just as easy as the pants, and the starchiness of it prevented it from caving in the area between his ribcage and pelvis. 

He was just in the act of slipping the vest over his shoulders when he heard the doorknob turn. Bones clacking in fear, Papyrus slowly turned his head to the door, his skull blushing when Grillby stood in the doorway. His face was unreadable and his flames swayed gently as the two of them stared at one another in silence. 

Papyrus cracked and quickly tried to cover himself in shame. “I-it’s not what it looks like!”

Grillby stalked towards him without a word, and Papyrus shrunk back in fear when Grillby clasped his arms. He maneuvered Papyrus so that he faced him fully, and Papyrus felt himself cower under that indecipherable gaze. This was it, he finally went too far. He knew that Grillby was fiercely possessive of his uniform and now he was going to get it. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the fallout.

“...You look really cute in this.”

“Huh???” Papyrus stared at him with bulging eyes. “Are you serious?!”

Grillby nodded firmly. “...I love it. Do you think I’d look this cute in your clothing?”

“I…” Papyrus was at a loss. “Maybe???”

 

As it turned out, Grillby did, in fact, look extremely adorable in Papyrus’s crop top and shorts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I find washing dishes (and cleaning in general) super therapeutic, and when I'm stressed/angry I'll often just put in headphones and busy myself in the suds ahahaha


	30. Day 30: Falling Asleep Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby is ready for sleep, Papyrus is...getting there.

Grillby tapped away idly on his phone, wondering if he should send a message to Papyrus. It wasn’t like he was far away, just in the bathroom in fact, but Grillby knew that he wouldn’t be able to shout loud enough for Papyrus to hear. 

Today was one of those rare days that came once in a blue moon when he had the night off and Papyrus actually felt tired enough to doze for a few measly hours in bed. He craved these nights really: the feel of soft bones against his flames, the barely audible snore of a certain fur princess between them, and just the calm atmosphere that settled over the apartment. It would be wonderful, once Papyrus actually got into the bed. 

He glanced over at Pepper, who was in a record-breaking perfect loaf on Papyrus’s side of the bed, staring off into the hallway where he would emerge...eventually. He had some sort of nighttime ritual that Grillby didn’t quite understand, but involved snow from outside, a small tube of an unknown substance, and a brush that couldn’t possibly be able to scrub over all of Papyrus’s bones in one night. It was odd, but still, Grillby didn’t want to disturb him.

Well, okay, maybe he should do it anyway.

**To: Papyrus 10:47pm  
** _ Are you coming to bed, dear? The sheets are getting cold. _

He heard a shuffling from the bathroom, then quick slaps against the floorboards as Papyrus came into view. He was in a tank top and short shorts, his usual pajama attire, complete with a set of fuzzy slippers and a bright, silky bonnet on his skull. The small brush that Grillby had seen a handful of times was in his hand, and on the bristles was an odd, creamy...something. 

Papyrus gave him a look of exasperation. “Grillby, the sheets can’t get cold if you’re in there! You’re fire!” He said, gesturing to him. He then turned to Pepper, and his eye-lights bulged slightly. “And you! What do you think you’re doing on my side of the bed?”

“...But look at her loaf,” Grillby ran a hand over Pepper’s back, receiving a stuttered purr in response. “...You can’t get mad at such a good loaf.”

Papyrus opened his mouth as if he were going to retort, but decided against it. “I must admit, that is quite a great loaf. Your ancestors must be rolling in their tiny, dirt graves over how magnificently you executed that move.” 

Grillby shrugged his shoulders and turned his palms up as if to say ‘really?’. 

“In any case, I am almost done! I will be back in less than two minutes and thirty seconds, starting--” Papyrus turned and sprinted out of the room-- “Now!”

Grillby chuckled to himself, sliding back down into bed until the covers were up to his neck. His flames fluttered happily in response to the comfort, and he deemed himself ‘ready’ for whenever Papyrus decided to show up in bed. 

Somewhere around two minutes later Papyrus emerged again and shuffled over to the bed. He gave Pepper a few scratches under her chin before gently picking her up and placing her closer to Grillby’s head. After that, he slid under the covers and immediately latched himself to Grillby’s side. “Hello, my hearth.”

“...Hello, my lovely bonefriend.” Grillby unearthed his arm from the covers so that he could place it underneath Papyrus’s neck. He pulled Papyrus into his grip and nuzzled him happily. “...Are you ready for sleep?”

“Yes, except I have to show you this thing!”

“...Thing?”

Papyrus nodded and reached for his phone. “It’s a funny meme that Sans sent me earlier, I thought you’d enjoy it!”

Grillby did his equivalent of rolling his eyes, sighing playfully. Something that he didn’t learn until they had started living together was how...interesting his humor was. Many times he would rush over to Grillby, phone in hand, to show him a funny picture or text that was just so obscure and out of nowhere that he couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Often there was never just  _ one _ thing to show Grillby, especially in bed, and he knew that it could be upwards of an hour before Papyrus finally exhausted his supply of content for the night. 

In the end, Grillby loved every part of Papyrus, even his odd humor, so he adjusted enough to see the phone screen and readied himself for whatever odd things Papyrus had for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another one of those IRL things I do with the SO. I love looking at memes and showing them to the boy, and every now and again we'll sit up in bed until way past our bedtime looking at dumb memes, You Suck at Cooking videos, and Vine compilations. 
> 
> He puts up with a lot from me ahahahha
> 
> Also, Papyrus was brushing his teeth.


	31. Day 31: Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grillby and Papyrus visit Grillby's home for the first time in almost a decade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Fluff, Slice of Life, Returning home, tearful reunion

“Hey, you guys made it!” Fuku ran up to Grillby and Papyrus as they stepped through the door, giving Grillby little warning before wrapping him up in a big hug. “It’s been a while!”

“...It has, hasn’t it,” Grillby smiled, returning the hug calmly. He glanced over her head at the familiar knickknacks hanging around the house. The family picture was front in center and showed off him, Fuku, and their parents back when Fuku had first started middle school. The camera managed to catch the perfect moment, and not a second too soon. If he recalled correctly, right after he had pushed Fuku off the stool and to the floor. Just normal, sibling banter.

Halloween, while non-existent in Snowdin, was an important holiday in Flame Elemental culture, and the day was usually set aside for families to congregate, sit in the dark, and feel close to one another. He used to love it, but after he left on such terrible terms he just couldn’t find it in him to come home for the holiday. It seemed to work out well since he was never invited, anyway. 

This year though, Grillby found a small, sealed envelope in his mailbox, and etched into a patch of solid dark wood was a request for his presence. At first he wanted to just chuck the letter out and ignore it, but unfortunately, Papyrus found it in the trash and confronted him. 

‘Just go, you won’t regret it’, he had said, and now here they were. 

Grillby patted his sister once more before letting go and turned to Papyrus. He eyed the bright orange attire Papyrus chose to wear for the event, along with a feathery hat on his skull that mimicked flames. “...You know you don’t have to wear that outfit. We usually dress pretty casually for this.”

“I wouldn’t fit it!” Papyrus said. “Besides, I worked really hard on this, check it out!” He pressed a button on his palm and the outfit lit up in an orange glow.

“Wow!” Fuku gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth in surprise. “How?!”

Papyrus grinned and tugged the collar of his outfit to reveal rows of tiny light bulbs embedded into the fabric. “Pretty neat, huh!”

“...He’s been working on it all week,” Grillby added. “Pepper had a field day with it.”

“Grillby~ When do I get to meet your cute kitty? I want to make her love me more than you.”

Grillby put his hand on Fuku’s shoulder and frowned. “...Fuku, she’ll never love you like she loves me.”

“The hell she won't--”

A door creaking further in the house startled them all into silence, and they cast quick glances at one another as the soft, steady sound of footsteps grew closer. Grillby dug his hands into his pants and gripped the material as a way to keep himself grounded. God, he wasn’t ready for this, why did he think he was ready for this, he can’t face them this soon…!

“Grillby…?” The sound of his mother’s voice had Grillby’s SOUL beating like a kick drum, and his metaphorical breath caught as she rounded the corner. 

“...Mom.” Grillby fought against his instincts to run and stood his ground, facing his mother for the first time in almost a decade. She looked the same as ever, maybe slightly shorter but he had also grown taller since he left. She was dressed in all black, her favorite color to wear for some reason, and in her hands was a thick, padded book. Loose photos threatened to fall from the book with the smallest movements, and even from where he stood he could tell that it was the family photo album. 

Her grip on the book tightened as she brought it protectively to her chest. Her face lowered and Grillby tensed, unsure of what would happen next. He vaguely felt the touch of a skeletal hand in his and he squeezed it out of habit. 

They waited with bated breath for what his mother would say next, and after a moment she finally lifted her head, revealing a face full of molten tears. “Welcome home, Grillby.”

Grillby choked back his own tears and answered. “...I’m home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Wow Sesu wtf why are you like this?' You might ask. Well, I just really wanted him to make up with his family okay ;;
> 
> This is it! We're done! Thank you all for hanging in there, it was fun but boy am I happy to be done bahahahaa. I made some character profiles for the main characters in this AU, and you can see them on my tumblr masterpost for this series: [ HERE ](https://sesurescue.tumblr.com/post/178646154770/sesus-flufftober-2018-masterpost)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all forms of kudos/comments/love, and if you're over 18, check out my NSFW tumblr here: [ SesuRescue ](https://sesurescue.tumblr.com)


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